I'd say its a major point...in no way not saying not legit

Posted on: June 15, 2020 at 11:08:34 CT

concerns. But with it being a legit issue and history in need of change, I'll be real: the UT football player protest action looks weaker than what the Mizzou players did in 2015. Only using the leverage of "recruiting activities and donor stuff" but not coming out and saying they may refuse to play unless those things gets fixed is not doing full service to the importance of all the things you just listed. It's a major point.

It conveys that either the players are still more interested in their own season/playing careers/whatever than the above listed cause, or that at some level they are still being influenced or even controlled by the same donors/school/coaches/fans whatever that they are trying to protest.

UT and the Big 12 are pretty much openly having students go back to campus this fall just to justify having a college football season. I mean why else are campuses going to close "at Thanksgiving." Don't tell me because cold weather COVID. There are COVID spikes happening now in summer, they have no idea when it will spike. It's because campus football games all end on Thanksgiving, so after that there is no excuse needed to require the players to still be on campus.

The players are hip to that game too, they know what is up. And they seem, at least from one point of view, to be communicating with this sort of protest threat that they want the same thing - to be able to play their football season, pandemic and all, protests and all, half empty stands and all, no matter what. That, or they are using the maximum amount of protest leverage they have available, but some other entities have leverage over the players at UT that prevents them from even threatening to boycott the games themselves.

Edited by McMuffin at 11:12:54 on 06/15/20