Mark Richt Wants Respect for Decision to Cancel Arkansas State

The Miami Hurricanes decision to cancel their September 9 game against Arkansas State due to Hurricanes Irma is about respect. Head Coach Mark Richt explained the reasoning behind the decision to cancel the game.

The Miami Hurricanes have relocated to Orlando as the University of Miami campus is still not fully open. Richt has repeatedly denied allegations that UM wasn’t playing the game because they did not want to travel to Jonesboro.

Richt discussed the offensive allegations levied at the Hurricanes from both the local media in Arkansas and the national media. He disputed the allegations in a series of tweets on September 7 ahead of Irma striking South Florida.

Miami has canceled games the last two weekends because of Irma. The school is just beginning to reopen this week. It will not be fully reopened until September 25. The university released a tweet earlier today with the schedule of gradually reopening the school over the next week.

Richt spoke out today about the lack of empathy regarding the devastation of Hurricane Irma. The Palm Beach Post quoted the Hurricanes head coach as saying:

"“Our No. 1 goal was safety of everybody, and that’s why we made the decision early not to play the game…Could we have snuck out just in time to go play that game? We could have, logistically, but in the meantime if you’re a coach and you’re going to put in 12-hour days and give the time that it takes to prepare for a game like that and show the respect that you need to show to that game, then who is helping your wife gets things done?"

Richt is more than just a coach to his own family and his players. He made the only logical decision he could. Richt chose to have empathy for his players and staff. Something the both the Arkansas and National media didn’t.

They focused more on playing a football game than what potentially could have been a devastating hurricane in South Florida. The Hurricanes also chose to head to Orlando to seek shelter away from Hurricane Irma.

"“When we decided to break camp we wanted everyone to have time to get with their family and make decisions that’s best for them…Same thing with the coaches, the staff. We wanted our coaches to be with their families and help batten down the hatches and make decisions on what they wanted to do."

Richt also gave his staff and players time to get acclimated after the storm.

"“So we gave them time prior to the storm, obviously during the storm, and we gave them time after the storm…And I’m talking about staff, I’m talking about players, I’m talking about everybody involved with the program, and when the dust had settled enough, to get back up and running, we were hoping to go back to campus, but obviously that wasn’t going to happen. We couldn’t do that.”"

The Hurricanes will continue to practice in Orlando through Wednesday. Hopefully, with the game against Toledo upcoming Saturday, they can put the allegations about their ulterior motives regarding the Arkansas State game behind them.

Next: Miami Hurricanes Had Near Dream Season After Andrew in 1992

This season will likely be remembered for Hurricane Irma no matter what the outcome is. Hopefully, the Miami Hurricanes can add to that memory.