Pac-12 Football Players Unite, Give List of Demands for Health and Safety, Compensation, Racial Injustice

Hundreds of Pac-12 football players put together a list of demands released on The Players’ Tribune Sunday morning.

The group, known as Pac-12 Football Unity, included four main pillars; Health and Safety Protections; Protect All Sports; End Racial Injustice in College Sports and Society; Economic Freedom and Equity.

A number of players have posted their commitment to the Pac-12 Football Unity group, including Ducks stud OL Penei Sewell (see bottom of this post).

Health and Safety Protections

If there is a season, the players want protection to opt out of the 2020 season without losing athletics eligibility or their spot on the team’s roster. Also, they want to prohibit or void COVID-19 agreements that make the players waive their liability if they catch COVID-19.

The players also want to select a third-party which will enforce “player-approved” health and safety standards to “address COVID-19, as well as serious injury, abuse and death.”

Protect All Sports

The Pac-12 Football Unity group also wants to ensure the other Pac-12 sports aren’t lost. “Preserve all existing sports by eliminating excessive

There are three options the players suggest to help protect all sports.

Larry Scott, administrators, and coaches to voluntarily and drastically reduce excessive pay.
End performance/academic bonuses.
End lavish facility expenditures and use some endowment funds to preserve all sports.

They make the example of No. 3 clear, Stanford University should reinstate the 11 athletic programs cut last month, by “tapping into their $27.7 billion endowment.”

End Racial Injustice in College Sports and Society

The group wants to form a “permanent civic-engagement task force” comprised of university and conference admins as well as members of the group’s leadership and “experts of our choice”. The task force would be used to “address outstanding issues such as racial injustice in college sports and in society.”

Next, “in partnership with the Pac-12,” the players want two percent of the conference’s revenue used to “support financial aid for low-income Black students, community initiatives, and development programs for college athletes on each campus.”

Finally, the formation of an annual Pac-12 Black College Athlete Summit which would include “guaranteed representation of at least three athletes of our choice from every school.”

Economic Freedom and Equity

This section had three subsections, which each had at least one bullet point.

The players want guaranteed medical insurance coverage, which they would select, for “sports-related medical conditions” which would include COVID-19. They want it to cover the players through “six years after college athletics eligibility ends.”

The group also calls for the “freedom to secure representation, receive basic necessities from any third party, and earn money for use of our name, image, and likeness rights.”

The final section of Economic Freedom and Equity deals with fair market pay, rights and freedom. The first one might be difficult to accomplish, “distribute 50% of each sport’s total conference revenue evenly among athletes in their respective sports.”

Next, they want six-year athletic scholarships to help with undergrad and graduate degree completion.

Also, the group wants “elimination of all policies and practices restricting or deterring our freedom of speech, our ability to fully participate in charitable work, and our freedom to participate in campus activities outside of mandatory athletics participation.”

The NCAA won’t like the next one. The players want all athletes to be able to transfer one time without punishment, and “additionally in cases of abuse or serious negligence.”

Another difficult demand to accomplish, the group wants the “ability to complete eligibility after participating in a pro draft if player goes undrafted and foregoes professional participation within seven days of the draft.”

Finally, they want “due process rights.”

Players Showing Unity on Twitter

Ducks OL Penei Sewell

#WeAreUnited pic.twitter.com/nUdIhlHAig

— Penei Sewell 🇦🇸 (@peneisewell58) August 2, 2020

Ducks DE Kayvon Thibodeaux

#WeAreUnited

— kayvon thibodeaux (@kayvonT8) August 2, 2020

Through SI.com article, Ducks DB Jevon Holland

#Oregon star DB Jevon Holland: “We’re not your entertainment, we’re human beings… We don’t know the long term risks. We have no idea how it’s going to affect our body regardless if we show symptoms or not. I refuse to put my health at risk for somebody else’s benefit.” https://t.co/dDnq1hv6A1

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) August 2, 2020

Also, Holland on Twitter

If you want to Follow anyones lead on how to take care and make sure players are safe. Follow Coach Cristobal & Oregon Football/Medical. They are doing things right and making sure we are safe @pac12

— Vón🧞 (@HollywoodVon) August 2, 2020

Huskies DB Elijah Molden