After a week in which multiple Power 5 conferences announced tentative plans to proceed with a fall season, even as the country struggles to contain the spread of COVID-19, a group of Pac-12 student-athletes have decided to make their voices heard.
In a statement published via The Players’ Tribune, hundreds of student-athletes writing under the banner “Players of the Pac-12” announced their intentions to opt out of fall camp and game participation unless a list of demands are “guaranteed in writing by our conference to protect and benefit both scholarship athletes and walk-ons.”
The demands seek COVID-19 protections for student-athletes and the mandatory implementation of health and safety standards, in addition to preserving all existing revenue and non-revenue sports and addressing issues of racial injustice and economic inequality.