Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields lead college football players calling for a union

With about five million COVID-19 cases and more than 160,000 deaths from it in the United States, it’s becoming increasingly unlikely that the college football season, even a truncated version, will take place.

Multiple reports Sunday suggested that at a minimum, college football officials in Power 5 conferences are considering postponing the season to the spring or canceling it altogether. And without a clear plan for trying to keep the players — who are unpaid and would continue taking all the health risks — as safe as possible, their hand might be forced.

But many high-profile players, including Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, have been vocal on social media about wanting to play this season. But they want to be protected and clearly don’t feel that’s the case currently.

So representatives of the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC and Big 12 united to issue a set of demands, ranging from universal coronavirus protocols to eligibility guarantees for players who opt out to, most significantly, taking the first steps toward ultimately creating a players association.

They used the hashtags #WeWantToPlay and #WeAreUnited and noted that this was “Representative of the players of all Power 5 conferences”, but it’s reasonable to wonder if each person on every Power 5 roster was consulted.

The players’ demands read:

“Establish universal mandated health & safety procedures and protocols to help college-athletes against COVID-19 among all conferences throughout the NCAA

“Give players the opportunity to opt out and respect their decision

“Guarantee eligibility whether a player chooses to play the season or not

“Use our voices to establish open communication & trust between players and officials; ultimately create a college football players association”

Previously on Wednesday, the NCAA said scholarships must be honored for players who opt out of the season, legal waivers related to COVID-19 cannot be required and a decision about the future of Division I football this season must be made by August 21.

The latest list and call to form a union for college football players came just days after representatives of Pac-12 and Big Ten players separately issued a set of demands before agreeing to play this season.

Both lists, published in The Players’ Tribune, are related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and players want specifics about testing protocols and guarantees that their scholarships and eligibility are safe, should they choose to opt out of the season. They want transparency, protections and to ban the use of coronavirus-related liability waivers.

The Pac-12’s demands, however, also want racism in the sport addressed and outlined several starting points for how to make that happen. The conference’s players also want a 50-50 revenue share for athletes.

Also last week, UConn became the first FBS program to cancel its season, and the MAC became the first FBS conference to cancel college football this fall and possibly could aim for a spring season.

Here’s a sample of some of the other players who joined the #WeWantToPlay movement on social media: