Big Ten Joins Pac-12 with Unity Movement but No Opt-Out Threat; UConn Cancels Season
Big Ten Conference football players have formed a unity group said to be 1,000 players strong, but, unlike the Pac-12, they're seeking only health and eligibility protections in the face of the novel coronavirus pandemic — and not threatening to opt out en masse.
The Big Ten players' recommendations were printed in a statement released on Wednesday on The Players Tribune, three days following the launch of the Pac-12's movement on the same media platform.
In their published message that you can read here, Big Ten players said the conference has fallen short in it health protections with practice opening soon for the teams and an abbreviated season of conference-only games following.
"Given that the players are the primary stakeholders in the business of college sports, we believe any course of action moving forward needs to include player input," their statement read. "We are deeply disappointed with the lack of leadership demonstrated by the NCAA with respect to player safety during the COVID-19 pandemic."
In another development, Connecticut became the first FBS school — and probably not the last — to cancel its upcoming football season because of virus concerns. The Huskies played out of the American Athletic Conference last season but was expected to compete as an independent.
"The safety challenges created by COVID-10 place our football student-athletes at an unacceptable level of risk," UConn athletic director David Benedict said in a statement.
In the Big Ten, the players kept their focus entirely on health and eligibility concerns, whereas the Pac-12 players' demands also veered into conference financial disbursements and social injustice matters.
The Pac-10 unity group, reportedly involving 400 players, has threatened to boycott the season if their demands aren't met. Commissioner Larry Scott has responded and suggested they hold a meeting, but nothing appears to have been scheduled yet.
The University of Washington, which has deferred all inquiries on the players' actions to the league office, is set to open football practice on Aug. 17. The Huskies open the season against Stanford on Sept. 26 at Husky Stadium.
UW players haven't responded to interview requests regarding the unity movement and largely stayed off social media on Wednesday, other than to post overhead photos of Husky Stadium.
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