Pac-12 football players threaten to boycott season

[Da Coach]

I have moved this discussion to a separate thread...

Could this be the future of college athletics? I sure hope not.... if so, it will mean the end of college sports as we know it.
Check out this article-
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en...ootball-season

It is an article from The Players' Tribune, an online media platform that provides content written by professional athletes. It was founded by former professional Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter.

But, this article appears to be a collective of college athletes (more likely activists and lawyers working with a few athletes) who purport to speak for all the college athletes in the Pac-12 Conference. Interestingly, there is not a single person who attaches their name to this piece. They repeatedly use the hashtag #WeAreUnited, but if you try to search for that, all you find is that it is the name of the Twitter feed that represents the employees of United Airlines.
https://twitter.com/weareunited

Anyway, they claim to be oppressed and discriminated against, and list grievances, then claim: "Players of the Pac-12.... will opt-out of fall camp and game participation due to COVID-19 and other serious concerns unless the conference guarantees in writing to protect and benefit both scholarship athletes and walk-ons."

Then they list a bunch of bold and (IMO) a bit unrealistic demands.

Pac-12 Football Unity Demands
To Protect and Benefit Both Scholarship and Walk-On Athletes
I. Health & Safety Protections

COVID-19 Protections
1. Allow option not to play during the pandemic without losing athletics eligibility or spot on our team’s roster.
2. Prohibit/void COVID-19 agreements that waive liability.

Mandatory Safety Standards, Including COVID-19 Measures
1. Player-approved health and safety standards enforced by a third party selected by players to address COVID-19, as well as serious injury, abuse and death.

II. Protect All Sports
Preserve All Existing Sports by Eliminating Excessive Expenditures
1. (Pac-12 Commissioner) Larry Scott, administrators, and coaches to voluntarily and drastically reduce excessive pay.
2. End performance/academic bonuses.
3. End lavish facility expenditures and use some endowment funds to preserve all sports*
*As an example, Stanford University should reinstate all sports discontinued by tapping into their $27.7 billion endowment.

III. End Racial Injustice in College Sports and Society
1. Form a permanent civic-engagement task force made up of our leaders, experts of our choice, and university and conference administrators to address outstanding issues such as racial injustice in college sports and in society.
2. In partnership with the Pac-12, 2% of conference revenue would be directed by players to support financial aid for low-income Black students, community initiatives, and development programs for college athletes on each campus.
3. Form annual Pac-12 Black College Athlete Summit with guaranteed representation of at least three athletes of our choice from every school.

IV. Economic Freedom and Equity
Guaranteed Medical Expense Coverage
1. Medical insurance selected by players for sports-related medical conditions, including COVID- 19 illness, to cover six years after college athletics eligibility ends.

Name, Image, and Likeness Rights & Representation
1. The freedom to secure representation, receive basic necessities from any third party, and earn money for use of our name, image, and likeness rights.

Fair Market Pay, Rights, & Freedoms
1. Distribute 50% of each sport’s total conference revenue evenly among athletes in their respective sports.
2. Six-year athletic scholarships to foster undergraduate and graduate degree completion.
3. Elimination of all policies and practices restricting or deterring our freedom of speech, our ability to fully participate in charitable work, and our freedom to participate in campus activities outside of mandatory athletics participation.
4. Ability of players of all sports to transfer one time without punishment, and additionally in cases of abuse or serious negligence.
5. Ability to complete eligibility after participating in a pro draft if player goes undrafted and foregoes professional participation within seven days of the draft.
6. Due process rights

[Da Coach]

Some followup to my post.... Sports Illustrated published this article about an hour after the initial article appeared in The Players' Tribune-
https://www.si.com/college/2020/08/0...to-skip-season

The article claims the group includes "A group of hundreds of Pac-12 football players". However, that claim is vague and maybe a bit dubious, and apparently the author of the article only spoke to a very small number of players who claim to represent the group. There are just 3 players referred to, mentioned by name, and quoted in the article-
Cal offensive lineman Valentino Daltoso
Elisha Guidry, a defensive back at UCLA
Oregon safety Jevon Holland

Just my opinion here, but if a previously unknown group claiming to include "hundreds of Pac-12 football players" suddenly appears and makes bold and somewhat unreasonable demands with only days before the start of the football season, they should at least be a bit more open about who they are, who are the leaders of the group, and what outside organizations are working with them. Have they even tried to make contact with the Pac-12 Commissioner's office, or request to negotiate their concerns before going full-blown into a media publicity campaign with their article at 7:00 am this morning?

[Tommy]

I have a lot to say about this, but I will hold back as I don't want to get all political on the BU forum. Let's just say, I find it laughable how they try to mix reasonable requests in with pure foolishness to mask the true intent.

[Da Coach]

I agree .... there are some issues in their demands that fully deserve to be taken seriously and addressed. But they need to sit down with the AD's and administrators of their schools, and eventually with the Pac-12 Commissioner. There are better ways to address unfairness and inequality, and somehow we have always found ways to do that and make improvements in college sports.
I have been very close to college sports and student-athletes for many decades, and for the most part, I believe a very high percentage of them would say that the system works, treats them well, and even if they never end up playing pro sports, they get immense benefits from their partially or fully-funded education (if they are on scholarships) and from all the other benefits they derive as student athletes. Studies have shown that overall, student athletes are more likely to graduate than non-athletes, and as likely or more likely to be successful in post-college life than non-athletes or than those who never went to college. So I have to believe that most athletes and most others involved in college sports do not want to tear down the entire system and start over.

[bradleyfan124]

If they refuse to play the sport they signed a letter of intent for at that school then they lose their scholarship. What is being lost in this turmoil is the generation doing this. They are the Millenials. They follow no rules, dont care about history, only believe in the here and now, do not care about the repercussion of their actions. And most important they dont feel that they have to work toward anything. They are entitled to it!!

[Da Coach]

Here is an interesting response from a sportswriter that is worth reading-

Column: It’s time for college sports to tell athletes take it or leave it
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...-title-ix-ncaa

First, the Sports Illustrated article linked in an above post claimed:
"A group of hundreds of Pac-12 football players announced Sunday they will opt out of any upcoming training camps and games unless the conference negotiates with them and reaches a legal agreement regarding health and safety practices, while also addressing issues of racial injustice and economic inequality."
However, they only cited 3 players by name.

But interestingly, this column claims that there are only a tiny handful of athletes who actually admit ti being behind this movement-
"Twelve football players from nine Pac-12 schools identified themselves as part of the movement that adopted the hashtag, #WeAreUnited.
It’s unclear how many of their teammates have joined them."

And, as I suspected, it is actually headed by an union activist who is not an active college player (he graduated from UCLA over 20 years ago)-
The man behind the curtain is former UCLA linebacker Ramogi Huma, a proponent of unionizing collegiate athletes who heads a nonprofit advocacy group called the National College Players Association.

He is the head of an advocacy group that wants to see college athletes unionize, and he obviously stands to profit greatly from being the leader of this movement. He'd likely become a mega-millionaire like most union leaders if he could successfully unionize tens of thousands of college athletes nationwide.

Also note that among their demands, which one leading athlete admitted are "unrealistic and far-fetched", is that players get 50% of revenue generated by their sport. If that was implemented, it would mean that every player on every BCS roster would get hundreds of thousands of dollars per year! Of course, that will never happen, as it would make it impossible for schools to get networks to televise their games, and thus all the money would disappear.

Here is another clip from the article that finally acknowledges what we all know-

....the poor, exploited players get nothing....
The reality: They don’t get nothing.
They get a full scholarship for five (and sometimes six) years, plus grad school if you finish your undergraduate degree early and still have eligibility. In some cases, that’s worth $350,000.
You get housing and cost of attendance stipends, recent additions because the scholarship alone wasn’t enough. That can be another $10,000 per year in cash.
You get priority registration so you don’t have to wait a semester or six for that popular, upper-division class with the primo professor.
You finish with no student loans, or $37,468 less than the average California grad did last year.
You get academic tutoring 24/7. You have food available 24/7. You fly charter, stay in five-star hotels, get per diem, get boxes and boxes of gear. You have access to some of the best doctors and dentists and ophthalmologists in the county. You work out in a private weight room with state-of-the-art equipment. You’re conferred an elite social status on campus.
Starting soon, you can enter into personal endorsement contracts for your name, image and license made more marketable by the 100-year history and branding of your university.
What’s the total value? $100,000 per year? $200,000 per year? More?

[Tommy]

Great article, Coach.

As for this quote: They get a full scholarship for five (and sometimes six) years, plus grad school if you finish your undergraduate degree early and still have eligibility. In some cases, that’s worth $350,000.

I think this needs to be corrected to read, In Some cases, it COSTS $350,000.00.

[Dub]

Oh Tommy