The Pac-12 players of the “WeAreUnited” movement said they were “disappointed and deeply concerned” after a recent meeting with the conference’s commissioner.
The players sent an email to Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott late Friday accusing him of not taking the issues they have raised seriously enough.
The email was also shared with members of the media.
The group’s correspondence came after Scott followed their Thursday call with an email to the players that struck a very different tone, thanking them for the “passion and honesty with which you spoke yesterday evening.”
The group is pushing the conference to address their concerns about COVID-19 protocols, racial injustice in college sports and economic rights for college athletes.
Players threatened opting out of practices and games if their demands aren’t addressed.
Leaders of the group have said their movement has more than 400 players from around the conference supporting it.
Three Arizona Wildcats — wide receiver Drew Dixon, defensive back Malik Hausman and safety Jaxen Turner — have publicly identified themselves as members of the group.
Backup quarterback Kevin Doyle opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19 concerns, but his decision was not related to the player boycott.
In their email to the commissioner, the players said they were unsatisfied with Scott’s answers to question about increasing the frequency of COVID-19 testing done on athletes and the mandating of best practices across the conference.
“Without a discernible plan and mandates to ensure the health and safety of student-athletes, it is absurd, offensive, and deadly to expect a season to proceed,” they said.
When the players went public with their demands last Sunday, they reached out to the Pac-12 and requested daily meetings with conference officials.
Instead, they got one call last week and a pledge from the conference for continued communication.
“You informed us we cannot have legal representation attend these meetings to assist in connection with our legal rights, nor were you willing to even have regular meetings with us to provide updates,” the players wrote to Scott.
Scott’s email addressed four topics that made up the bulk of the Thursday call with 12 players: health and safety; eligibility; COVID-19 liability waivers; and opt-out due to COVID-19 concerns.
Scott wrote the conference will attempt to provide the players an opportunity to speak with the Pac-12 medical advisory committee and keep them abreast of work being done at the NCAA level to address whether athletes who opt out can retain eligibility.
Scott said the conference office would ensure none of the league’s schools ask athletes to sign liability waivers and reiterated Pac-12 schools were committed to honoring scholarships of players who chose not to play this season because of COVID-19 concerns.
Arizona Bowl waiting on Mountain West after MAC postpones season
In a move that will jeopardize this year’s Arizona Bowl, the Mid-American Conference announced Saturday that it will postpone its fall sports seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The MAC is in its first year as a partner with the Arizona Bowl, the annual game played against a Mountain West Conference school at Arizona Stadium.
Arizona Bowl chairman Ali Farhang called the decision “certainly disappointing, but it’s just a matter of perspective.”
“They call it the novel coronavirus because it’s new and we’re learning more every day,” he added. “I’m confident we’re going to get through this. ... (The MAC) is making the best decision in what they believe is the best interests of their student-athletes, which takes courage and is very commendable. There’s still so much uncertainty and we’ll continue to monitor and evaluate the situation.”
Farhang said the Arizona Bowl’s executive board has “been working on different possibilities since March,” when the coronavirus paused professional sports and canceled the collegiate spring sports season.
The Mountain West Conference will meet over the following days to discuss the future of the fall sports season. Farhang said the Arizona Bowl is prepared to adjust, whether it means continuing without the MAC or MWC or skipping the 2020 game altogether.
“The bowl is in good shape and regardless of how the rest of the dominoes fall, we’re prepared ... and we have contingency plans in place that we’ve been working for a long time,” Farhang said.
Justin Spears
