Pac-12 football players threaten coronavirus opt-out over health and social justice concerns
03 August 2020
A group of Pac-12 football players have threatened to opt out of the season unless the conference addresses systemic inequities and concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Why it matters: College football players have never had more leverage than they do right now, as the sport tries to stage a season amid the pandemic. And their willingness to use it shows we've entered a new age in college sports.
What they're saying: In a letter published by The Players' Tribune, the players demanded increased health and safety protections, a commitment to social justice and the redistribution of football revenue.
- Health and safety: Players want COVID-19 liability waivers to be prohibited and universal safety measures. They're also seeking medical insurance for six years post-eligibility.
- Social justice: They're demanding that the Pac-12 form a permanent, civic-engagement task force to address social injustice.
- Revenue redistribution: Perhaps most boldly, players asked for 50% of each sport's revenue to be evenly distributed among athletes.
The big picture: When nationwide protests erupted, college athletes were not shy about using their platform to enact change, and just last week a group of SEC football players voiced concerns similar to the Pac-12 on a private call with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.
- Ultimately, the pandemic itself will likely dictate the state of the fall (or spring) football season more forcibly than administrators' decisions or the players' refusal to accept them.
- But among those three factors, the players' initiative stands out as the most impactful regarding the future of college sports.
The bottom line: In recent months, college athletes have shown us a newfound awareness of their power. Now, as SB Nation's Steven Godfrey puts it, "they're showing us the accompanying resolve."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.