Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is among several higher-profile college football players posting on social media that they want to play this season.
Lawrence tweeted on Sunday: “Let’s work together to create a situation where we can play the game that all of us love. Not divide and argue. There is a way forward.”
Lawrence posted a separate tweet with the hashtag #WeWantToPlay. North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell posted the same hashtag tweet.
Another longer Lawrence tweet read in part: “People are at just as much, if not more risk, if we don’t play. Players will all be sent home to their own communities where social distancing is highly unlikely and medical care and expenses will be placed on the families if they were to contract covid19.”
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields echoed Lawrence’s sentiments on Sunday. Fields, who like Lawrence would project as one of the top picks in the 2021 NFL draft even if he doesn’t play another down in college football, tweeted: “There’s been too much work put in! #WeWantToPlay”
On Sunday night, Lawrence and Fields, along with several other athletes from Power 5 conferences, tweeted a graphic with conference logos that stated one goal is to “create a college football players association.”
#WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/jvQhE7noGB
— Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) August 10, 2020
ESPN reported that the commissioners of the Power 5 conferences held an emergency meeting on Sunday, as there is growing concern among college athletics officials that it won’t be possible to play the upcoming football season and other fall sports because of the coronavirus pandemic.
On Saturday, Lawrence tweeted: “I don’t know about y’all, but we want to play.”
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford posted a hashtag tweet on Saturday that read #IWantToPlay, and Ohio State linebacker Tuf Borland, a team captain, penned a letter to the “college athletics community” on his Twitter feed.
“It has been said that college athletes are being ‘exploited’ not only in the stated letter but also in the media,” Borland wrote. “We recognize that there are risks. But we have all chosen to be here and want the chance to play this fall. We know that there is still a long way to go as plans continue to change everyday. But we have a consistent voice in the discussion.”
Parents of current Ohio State players have been circulating a letter on social media that says they trust the safety protocols that the school has put in place and want their student-athletes to play this season.
