ASU Football: According to Some, Playing College Football Safer than Being Sent Home
Over the weekend, players from the Pac-12 #WeAreUnited joined the Big Ten's #WeWantToPlay movement in light of rumors that the college football season will be canceled. One of the leading college football voices heard over the weekend on social media was Clemson's QB Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence is well respected on and off the field. He has always had a great head on his shoulders, been respectful with media, teammates, coaches, all of it. The Clemson star quarterback went to twitter to voice his thoughts on the season being canceled,
"People are at just as much, if not more risk, if we don't play. Players will all be sent home to their own communities where social distancing is highly unlikely and medical care and expenses will be placed on the families if they were to contract covid19.
Not to mention the players coming from situations that are not good for them/ their future and having to go back to that. Football is a safe haven for so many people. We are more likely to get the virus in everyday life than playing football. Having a season also incentivizes
Players being safe and taking all of the right precautions to try to avoid contracting COVID because the season/teammate's safety is on the line. Without the season, as we've seen already, people will not social distance or wear masks and take the proper precautions"
Lawrence brings up a high point that athletes are actually safer at school than they are back home. At school, they will have constant access to health professionals, workouts which keep the immune system healthy, COVID-19 tests if they need depending on the school and state. So it begs to ask and really look at the situation if canceling will help?
ESPN Reporter Molly McGrath weighed in on the situation on Twitter since her dad is a Dr,
"Just spoke with my dad, who's a research scientist and doctor studying CoVid. He believes that student-athletes could be safer if they remain with their teams bc they'll be closely monitored and have more motivation to isolate and avoid social situations."
We are seeing from the NBA and, most recently, MLB that when the player's buy-in, playing a sport can be successful. Now, MLB had some issues with players NOT taking it seriously and that is what caused an outbreak within the Marlins and the Cardinals. The buy-in has to be bigger than anything else. The players have to believe in the system put in place. That means no going out, no big groups; it means focusing on your sport if you're a professional, and for college athletes, it means focusing only on school and your game on the field.
Understandably, MLB and the NBA have bigger budgets to support testing every day and something colleges would have to figure out and are trying to.
For ASU football players, they have continuously been vocal about how they feel safe playing at ASU. They feel safe and confident in what the school, coaches and administrators have done to put their safety first.
ASU's Cody Shear, who was the only ASU football player named in the #WeAreUnited took to Twitter to say this about the safety at ASU,
"ASU football has done a great job of prioritizing the safety of the student-athletes during the pandemic. Whether it be the coaches, trainers, or our strength staff, there has consistently been a focus on player safety. We are in good hands in Tempe. #ForksUp"
ASU's backup QB Jack Smith also went to Twitter to suggest the same thing,
"Safest place in America is inside the walls of ASU football... LETS PLAY SOME BALL!!"
It's clear that ASU football players feel safe with everything Arizona State football, Herm Edwards and all are doing. The question now is, will they be allowed to play?
Not only did players weigh-in, but according to Ross Dellenger with Sports Illustrated, Senator Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) put together a letter to send to Big Ten Presidents with reasons on why college football should be played. In the letter, Sasse writes, "This is a moment for leadership. These young men need a season. Please don't cancel college football."
Sasse, also a former college president using his voice to show the athlete's support,
"There are no guarantees that college football will be completely safe- that's absolutely true: It's always true. But the structure and discipline of football programs is very likely safer than what the lived experience of 18-22-year-olds will be if there isn't a season."
As college presidents rush to try and figure it out, one thing is sure; the virus isn't going away. We can't ignore it. We have to keep everyone safe, but how do we do that and keep the season, but also how do we do that and cancel the season. These are times like we have never seen before. What we can do is support each other and hope for the best.