Battle Lines Formed Over Players Opting Out

Why is there a battle, or even a discussion on players opting out?

Even as the Southeastern Conference pushed forward with training for the coming college football season, there are doubts the runners will make it to the starting blocks. There are even more doubts that they will make it to the finish line. 

In recent weeks reports began to surface fro around the country of players opting out of playing this season. Last week several Vanderbilt football players joined the group of players who chose their health and safety above the sport. 

"We've had five or six opt-out, and I know there will be several across the league as this thing gets closer," Mason told ESPN's Chris Low in an article published on Saturday. "Our kids are looking, listening, and paying attention and making decisions for themselves, and that's exactly what me and my program encourage. You want these guys to be part of your program and part of your team, but not if they're uncomfortable."

Among them, Dimitri Moore, a senior linebacker and the team's leading tackler from a season ago. He is being joined by Cole Clemens, Jonathan Stewart, Bryce Bailey, and Oren Milstein, who have all announced they will sit out the season. 

Almost immediately, some fans on social media rushed to share their thoughts on these decisions, and some were less than pleasant. 

Let me say plainly that I am all for any of these college athletes who do not feel safe participating to opt-out. It's their bodies and their choice. They can and should do as their conscience dictates, just as the rest of us are being forced to do during this pandemic. 

I'm also firmly against judging these athletes for their decisions, regardless of if I agree or disagree with them. It's their life and their choice, and they must choose which medical professionals they want to follow in making their decisions. 

Leagues around the nation are divided, with some saying it's impossible to play and others saying, we're going to play. Players and everyday people around our country have been inundated with advice, reports, arguments, and misinformation on what we're living through, and are making decisions for ourselves and our families basked on complex data. 

In my opinion, there's simply no need to question why these players have chosen to sit it out, only that they have, and it's their choice. Wasting my time on social media discussing the merits of their decisions isn't for me. 

Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven.