Trump demands college athletes play despite Big 10 reportedly cancelling football season amid rising US coronavirus cases

Trump shared Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s tweet sharing calls from athletes to ensure the season is played

Jack Rathborn
Monday 10 August 2020 19:45 BST
Comments
Madden NFL 21 trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

United States President Donald Trump has backed calls led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence for the college football season to be played amid rising coronavirus cases in the country.

Widespread reports suggest the Big Ten is leaning towards pulling the plug on its fall sports season, with the other Power 5 conferences – the ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC – in discussions and possibly following.

But Clemson’s star quarterback Lawrence posted a statement on behalf of the athletes demanding the season to be played, with Trump joining the debate by quote tweeting in response.

He wrote: “The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled. #WeWantToPlay.”

“We want to play football this season,” read the players’ statement. “Establish universal mandated health and safety procedures and protocols to protect college athletes against Covid-19 among all conferences throughout the NCAA.

Trevor Lawrence has called for measures to be put in place to save the season
Trevor Lawrence has called for measures to be put in place to save the season (Getty)

“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 and trust between players and officials.

“Ultimately create a college football players association. Representative of the players of all Power 5 conferences.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in