Notre Dame could REJECT an invitation to the College Football Playoff if officials don't allow players' families to attend ... so says Irish head coach Brian Kelly, who just made the threat on Friday morning.
Kelly spelled out his feelings on the matter in a heated Zoom sesh with reporters ... saying, "I'm not sure we'll play in the playoffs if the parents can't be there."
"Why would we play if you can't have families at the game? If you can't have families at bowl games, why would you go to a game where your families can't be part of it?"
Kelly continued, "What's the sense of playing a game in an area of the country where nobody can be part of it?"
The NCAA had planned to hold one of its CFP semifinal games at the Rose Bowl this season ... and, despite Los Angeles not allowing spectators at sporting events due to COVID, the org. is still pushing forward with that plan.
Kelly clearly believes that's a ludicrous idea ... saying the NCAA should just move the game to another site so players' family members can watch in person.
"Maybe they need to spend a little less time on who the top four teams are and figure out how to get parents into these games because it is an absolute shame and a sham if parents can't be watching their kids play," Kelly said.
"My kids have been on campus since June. They haven't seen their families very much at all. They've had to fight through COVID, some of them have had COVID. They can't be around their families for Christmas, and you're going to tell me we're going to have a playoff and maybe one site can have families and the other can't? Please."
Kelly added, "Somebody's got to wake up in that room and figure this out or you might as well call this the professional league. I am so sick and tired of this playoff committee talking about having sites where you can't have parents at and their families. It's ridiculous."
For now, Kelly's Fighting Irish team is firmly in the CFP picture, currently ranked No. 2 behind Alabama and ahead of Clemson and Ohio State.