No Regrets on COVID Decision

2021-07-22 · Kevin Warren, Commissioner, Big Ten Conference (Big Ten)

At Big Ten Football Media Days in Indianapolis, nearly a year after the COVID controversy, Warren was asked about regrets. He deflected philosophically and called 2020 "one of the best years of my life."

What he said

I don't have any regrets. Quite naturally, we all look back on our lives and other things that we wish we would have maybe done a little bit differently. But if I had the chance to do it all over last year, I would make the same decisions that we made.

What really is the essence of regret and what does that really mean?

Communication was not perfect and could have been cleaner. But 2020 was one of the best years of my life. It taught me how to be a better leader.

The fact-check

"I don't have any regrets. If I had the chance to do it all over last year, I would make the same decisions that we made." — Misleading: Warren reversed his own "final" decision 5 weeks later. Claiming no regrets about this sequence is detached from reality.
"What really is the essence of regret and what does that really mean?" — Rhetoric: Philosophical deflection when faced with direct criticism. A transparent attempt to avoid accountability.