I'm very disappointed that the Big 10 cancelled the season. (Or potentially postponed it to spring.)
I think that players should be given the ability to play or not play, whichever they judge to be the best for their personal situations.
It's a team sport with health consequences.
"Players have gotten seriously ill, however. And at least five big-time college football players have decided to forgo the season to prepare for the NFL draft, citing concerns about coronavirus transmission. Multiple schools have experienced breakouts of the virus that necessitated two-week suspensions of workouts, just days before the season is expected to — maybe — begin in early September. "
"Oregon State University’s football team generates 80 percent of the athletic department’s revenue. And the fallout could go far beyond individual universities — the Big Ten, for instance, has a media rights deal with CBS, ESPN, and Fox worth an estimated $2.64 billion. The Pac-12 has gone so far as to pursue a massive loan, promising roughly $84 million to each member school to make up for lost revenue in case the season is canceled.
But one entity critical to college football is highly unlikely to receive a bailout: the players themselves, several of which have contracted Covid-19 and suffered serious physical consequences. In response, players in two conferences (the Pac-12 and the Big Ten) have formed unity groups, asking for better Covid-19 testing and protection. In the case of #WeAreUnited, the Pac-12 group, they also stated a willingness to boycott workouts and games unless their demands are met.
The entire apparatus of one of the country’s most popular sports depends on college students who are not compensated for their work, college students who find themselves at risk of long-term injury and now a potentially deadly virus while their coaches and administrators make millions. But in the wake of a coronavirus shake-up, players across the country are starting to stand up and say: not so fast.
https://www.vox.com/2020/8/10/21355857/college-football-coronavirus-explained
