Other Views: Football players will be on campus anyway

Zachary Faria, Washington Examiner:

“Even a phased- in return to on- campus instruction would involve far more students than the 100 or so on football rosters. How will canceling football protect players who will end up being on campus with thousands of students anyway? ... College football players have made it clear they want to play. ... Conferences that are planning to play, such as the Southeastern Conference, have vowed to protect the scholarships of players who decide to opt out of the season. No one is being coerced into the 2020 season. Football doesn’t spread the virus any more than on- campus instruction or sending athletes home to their communities, especially when these teams have robust testing and tracking programs in place.”

Benjamin Ferree, The Daily Collegian:

“As rumors continue to swirl that a total season cancellation is looming, players across the country took to social media Saturday night with the hashtag # IWantToPlay. Many shared how the universities have created a great environment for them to safely play the sport they love. ... One option for the fall football season to happen is simply pay the players. Make sure they have adequate health insurance, adequate testing, and cut them a check for their service for taking the risk involved with playing. ... The cost would be way less than losing nine figures due to no season. Players can then make the best choice for them — sit out, return next year with their scholarships and standing with the program still intact, or play, assume the short- and longterm risk, but be financially compensated for it. ... The problem with this is, well, there has been a now decadeslong battle for college athletes to get paid, just a sliver of a billion dollar cash pie that college athletics has turned into. ... A debate that has truly been going on for decades won’t be solved in a month. It’s just not feasible.”

Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati Enquirer:

“It’s time for college football to act like college football and protect its free labor force. Big business profiting on the backs of unpaid help has never looked so unseemly. These players aren’t merely a means to keep us entertained between Labor Day and New Year’s. They aren’t just cogs in a big corporate wheel that will chew them up and spit them out and occasionally pay them with diplomas. They’re somebody’s children.”

President Donald Trump, Twitter:

“Play College Football!” Christian Schneider, Twitter:

“Put Clorox in their water bottles and we’re good to go.”