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Report: Big-10, Pac-12 to cancel CFB season, players ignite #WeWantToPlay movement
With what seems like the 2020 Division I collegiate football season hanging by the tiniest thread, the players are making one last ditch effort to save the season and play football in 2020.
Late Sunday evening, several players flooded your social media timeline with a photo of all Power 5 conference logos and the statement:
We all want to play football this season. Establish universal mandated health & safety procedures and protocols to protect college-athletes against COVID-19 among all conferences throughout the NCAA. Give players the opportunity to opt-out and respect their decision. Guarantee eligibility whether a player chooses to play the season or not. Use our voices to establish open communication & trust between players and officials; ultimately create a college football players association. Representative of the players of all power 5 conference.
Of those players sharing this image on social media are likely No. 1 and. No. 2 2021 NFL Draft picks Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. These two not opting out of the season and taking a stand to conference commissioners is a big deal:
#WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/jvQhE7noGB
— Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) August 10, 2020
#WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/NgKG9Nab9c
— Justin Fields (@justnfields) August 10, 2020
Also retweeting this statement are current Oregon and Oregon State players such as Jaydon Grant, Thomas Graham Jr. and Bennett Williams.
#WeAreUnited #WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/CICYA7R1um
— Thomas Graham Jr. (@_TG4__) August 10, 2020
#WeAreUnited #WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/QzkevVwYVJ
— Bennett Williams (@bennettw04) August 10, 2020
#WeAreUnited #WeWantToPlay We all in this thing together💯✊🏽🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/fWnc1BqMFk
— Jaydon Grant (@JaydonGrant) August 10, 2020
They thought they could divide us... #WeAreUnited
— Jaydon Grant (@JaydonGrant) August 10, 2020
This movement comes hours after rumors of the season getting pulled at any moment.
[RELATED]: Report: Power 5 Conferences leaning towards cancelling 2020 CFB season
Per ESPN, Power 5 commissioners held an emergency meeting on Sunday due to growing concern that football and other fall sports will not be played due to the COVID-19 virus.
"It's gotten to a critical stage," one told SI according to Pat Forde. "I think all of us will be meeting with our boards in the coming days. We have work to do that is no fun."
Multiple sources told ESPN that a postponement or cancellation seems "inevitable," with speculation that the Big Ten or Pac-12 may be the first to announce.
College football sources tell @SInow that the Big Ten is moving toward a decision to cancel the 2020 fall season, while engaging other Power 5 conferences on a uniform decision to be announced later this week. https://t.co/vT1JIQYHrC
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 9, 2020
On Monday morning, Dan Patrick reported via a source that the Big-10 and Pac-12 will cancel their football seasons on Tuesday.
DP was told an hour ago that the Big 10 and Pac 12 will cancel their football seasons tomorrow... The ACC and the Big 12 are on the fence.. And the SEC is trying to get teams to join them for a season.
Watch live: https://t.co/sMaeXQkLfl pic.twitter.com/oSUNGMTEqw— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) August 10, 2020
Will the players taking a stand and wanting their voices to be heard make a difference if the conference chairs have already made a decision?
We will know likely sooner rather than later.
Report: Big-10, Pac-12 to cancel CFB season, players ignite #WeWantToPlay movement originally appeared on NBC Sports Northwest
