Many of college football’s most prominent players have voiced their own thoughts regarding the possible cancelation of the fall sports season.
From Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence to Ohio State’s Justin Fields, the countries biggest stars are making themselves heard.
Alabama quarterback Mac Jones is one of those stars to recently reveal his thoughts, and he did so in an official statement he released on Monday.
“When we committed to the University of Alabama and the SEC we trusted the process and we still do,” said Jones. “We believe the safest place for us is to be together playing football as a team at the University of Alabama. Trust us and let us play.
“I trust the process; coach Saban; and the University of Alabama; I believe playing the proposed modified season is the right decision. Our program has implemented numerous safety protocols in concurrence with our medical staff, CDC guidelines and the NCAA including but not limited to testing to help ensure the safety and well being of our coaches, staff, teammates and university. In making this decision, I do not mean to diminish the pain that this pandemic has caused everyone. Nonetheless, I am committed to playing football this season-as are the majority of my teammates. Paying for a better tomorrow. Roll Tide.”
— Mac Jones (@MacJones_10) August 10, 2020
Just a few hours ago in an interview with ESPN, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban discussed his feelings about player safety.
“I want to play, but I want to play for the players’ sake, the value they can create for themselves,” Saban told ESPN. “I know I’ll be criticized no matter what I say, that I don’t care about player safety. Look, players are a lot safer with us than they are running around at home. We have around a 2 percent positive ratio on our team since the Fourth of the July. It’s a lot higher than that in society. We act like these guys can’t get this unless they play football. They can get it anywhere, whether they’re in a bar or just hanging out.”
These comments and the thousands more joining in on the #WeWantToPlay hashtag originally began when reports surfaced that the Big Ten was looking for all the Power Five conferences to join together and cancel the fall sports season.
Since then multiple players from all the conferences, even the Big Ten, have voiced their displeasures and made it clear that they want to play.
As of right now, there has been no official word from any Power Five conference about canceling the fall sports season.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
