Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz among NFL players demanding safe playing conditions in coordinated social media message, and other sports news
NFL players made a statement Sunday on Twitter with the hashtag #WeWantToPlay to get the league's attention. The owners called a meeting Monday afternoon.
When NFL players tweet, people listen. Their latest message is drawing the attention of the NFL and its owners.
More than 50 NFL players joined a call to action on Sunday and demanded the NFL create a safe working environment before a return to play. Players used a hashtag, stating #WeWantToPlay to communicate their message.
Patrick Mahomes, DeAndre Hopkins, Drew Brees, Aaron Donald, Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman were among those.
Several Eagles players, including Carson Wentz, Miles Sanders, Zach Ertz, Darius Slay, Brandon Graham and Rodney McLeod, chimed in.
“If Adam Silver can respect and protect his NBA players why can’t @NFL do the same or us? Listen to your players!” McLeod said on Twitter.
“Why isn’t the NFL listening to the recommendation from their own joint committee? If we want to have a full season it will have to look different. @NFL make the necessary changes,” Slay demanded.
One of the holdups was the number of preseason games. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that players want no preseason games, but the league’s latest offer includes one.
Seeing a large number of players making a mass stand against the NFL will always move the needle. This time, it caused the league and owners to have a meeting at 2 p.m. Monday, where they’ll discuss player safety.
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California moving fall and winter high school sports to spring
California historically hasn’t been afraid to make the bold move in athletics. The state did it last fall with its name, likeness and image law for college athletes.
Now, California is the first state to move all fall and winter high school sports to the spring. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) made the announcement Monday afternoon.
According to the CIF’s release, a new schedule with updated sectionals and state championship dates was released for fall and winter sports impacted. Notably, football’s state championship will be held April 17, 2021 and basketball’s June 19, 2021.
Now the big question is how student-athletes react to this decision. Do they transfer? Do seniors signed to colleges or with scholarship offers sit out the season? A lot of answers will come in the next few weeks.
California is home to the No.1 overall football recruit in the 2021 class and 43 players overall ranked in the top 500 recruits in the country, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings. If players early enroll to college and graduate in December, they’ll essentially be forfeiting their senior football season.
California also has 22 of the top 200 basketball recruits in the 2021 class. The state is filled with talent in other sports like swimming, softball and baseball, too.
Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O’Neal partnering to start sports agency
Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O’Neal can make an impact in sports that we haven’t seen. The two former NBA All-Stars are reportedly starting their own agency.
O’Neal and McGrady plan to open Seven1 Sports Group and Entertainment his fall. Klutch Sports Group and Roc Nation Sports are two of the most recent. Klutch Sports rose to prominence behind LeBron James’ longtime friend, Rich Paul. Roc Nation’s agency was started by hip-hop legend Jay Z.
Kids coming through the high school ranks now won’t have much memory of watching O’Neal and McGrady in their primes, but that won’t matter. McGrady is in the mold of an Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter. No matter how much time passes, kids will always find a way to watch his fadeaways and crossovers. He has multiple highlight clips with more than one million views on YouTube for a reason.
O’Neal is different. His highlight clips won’t get the same attention, but he has built a relationship with some of the best high school players in Texas through his sports complex.
McGrady said he would serve in an advisory role and O’Neal plans on taking the test to become a certified NBA agent.
The comfort level that players could get from joining this agency is a big draw. Like James with Klutch Sports and Kevin Durant with Roc Nation, all it takes is one prominent name to get the ball rolling.