Where else but Berkeley?
The list of demands by Pac-12 football players, released over the weekend and gathering national attention, apparently started at the home of the Free Speech Movement and decades of student activism.
According to a story on The Undefeated which was published on the ESPN website, offensive linemen Jake Curhan, and Valentino Daltoso and Andrew Cooper, a cross country runner who’s the co-president of Cal’s student-athlete advisory committee, are the ones who got the ball rolling a couple of months ago.
As athletes returned to campus in June for voluntary workouts, some of them became concerned about the COVID-19 protocols. Daltoso questioned the motives behind the various administrative decisions.
“The same ones handling these regulations are the ones set to make millions if we play,” Daltoso said in the story,. “If our health and safety was No. 1, we wouldn’t be on campus.”
Via social media, the Cal players communicated with some of their counterparts in other conference schools. They learned that not all schools had the same playbook regarding virus protocols
“I think we’re doing pretty well at Cal,” Curhan said. “The fact we’re going to have to play these other schools? A little unsettling.”
As the Black Lives Matter movement and other social protests gathered momentum. the group included it and other social topics in their discussions. Three major issues soon came to the forefront, health and safety protections, racial justice and economic rights.
A July 4 Zoom call with players from every Pac-12 school was held.
“There was initial skepticism, but everyone on the Zoom stuck with us,” Cooper said.
It resulted in this weekend’s wide-ranging list of demands released in a letter published on Players’ Tribune website and consistently reinforced by the hashtag #WeAreUnited, It includes some more than reasonable requests, particularly those dealing with health, safety and social justice. Some others seem a little far-fetched. .
Among the most prominent
- Health and safety: Players want COVID-19 liability waivers to be prohibited and universal safety measures. They're also seeking medical insurance for six years post-eligibility.
- Social justice: They're demanding that the Pac-12 form a permanent, civic-engagement task force to address social injustice.
- Revenue redistribution: Players asked for 50% of each sport's revenue to be evenly distributed among the athletes in their respective sport.
- Giving back: In partnership with the Pac-12, 2% of conference revenue would be directed by players to support financial aid for low-income Black students, community initiatives, and development programs for college athletes on each campus.
- Athletic Sumit: Form annual Pac-12 Black College Athlete Summit with guaranteed representation of at least three athletes of our choice from every school.
- Transfer: There also was a demand for a change in transfer rules, which the NCAA was already considering.
Of course, the COVID-19 will have a bigger impact on what the season will look like than any player or group of players.
Still, the players’ list should have an impact going forward on how the athletes are treated and bring about some overdue changes.
In a news release Sunday, the group said it includes "hundreds of Pac-12 football players throughout our conference who are very concerned with the risks COVID-19 poses to our personal health and the health of our families and communities."
"There's not enough transparency about health risks, no uniformity to ensure we're all safe when we play each other, and no adequate enforcement infrastructure," the statement said. "NCAA sports has truly failed us, it doesn't enforce any health and safety standards. We believe a football season under these conditions would be reckless and put us at needless risk. We will not play until there is real change that is acceptable to us.:
The Cal Athletic Department had no response, referring inquiries to the statement the Pac-12 issued on Sunday.
“Neither the Conference nor our university athletics departments have been contacted by this group regarding these topics," a Pac-12 statement said. "We support our student-athletes using their voice and have regular communications with our student-athletes at many different levels on a range of topics. As we have clearly stated with respect to our fall competition plans, we are, and always will be, directed by medical experts, with the health, safety and well being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff always the first priority. We have made it clear that any student-athlete who chooses not to return to competition for health or safety reasons will have their scholarship protected."
All the demands are certainly well-intentioned and some are long overdue. others may not have been carefully thought through. While contributing to worthy causes is noble and worthwhile and noble, wanting half a sport’s revenue is an overreach. Football is a prime source of income to support the other sports. If half that pot goes to the players, there would be little left for tennis, crew, track, etc. You could kiss them goodbye. I doubt that is the players’ intent.
As for the threat to boycott the season, withholding services, in other words going on strike, is organized labor’s only real weapon. But unity in fact, rather than in name is required.. Everybody has to be on board. And as many players as it has, the movement does not seem unanimous.
Washington’s all-conference cornerback, Elijah Molden, said: “While I agree with most of the demands, there are a few that I cannot get on board with.”
And UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson wrote: “I understand and support every guy on the Pac-12 petition & #WeAreUnited but opting-out not an option for me …”
Also at last reports, no players from USC, Utah, or Colorado were involved.
Besides Daltoso and Curhan, Cal’s other letter signee is senior defensive back Josh Drayden.
