It happened.
Members of the #WeAreUnited campaign among Pac-12 athletes talked to Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, assistant commissioner Chris Merino, athletic directors Mark Harlan of Utah and Ray Anderson of Arizona State. The two-hour discussion took place Thursday night, a landmark moment in the history of college sports.
Though college athletes do not currently have a union or any formal structure of representation, the fact that they were able to discuss working conditions and the terms of their status as collegiate athletes with conference officials marks a new moment for the college sports industry.
To be very clear, the significance of this moment is less about the amount of progress made, or the specific details the athletes and the Pac-12 discussed. What is most important about this moment is merely that it took place at all.
In a year and a collection of circumstances which are genuinely unprecedented in American history — it’s not that we have a pandemic (that isn’t unprecedented), but that the pandemic has disrupted a billion-dollar athletic-industrial superstructure — athletes recognized that the time was ripe to have a place at the table.
Thursday night, they received it. That’s the big story here.
Of course, we will all be interested in how these discussions continue. No second meeting has been set up yet, but it is expected that a follow-up meeting will happen before too long.
The Pac-12 might be very resistant to the #WeAreUnited athletes on several fronts; in fact, Thursday night’s meeting affirmed that precise point. The conference pushed back against the Pac-12 athletes’ 50-percent revenue share proposal, with the executives telling the athletes the plan was “not something the schools were supportive of.”
The meeting focused on the health and safety piece of the #WeAreUnited campaign’s demands.
Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News reported that when a second meeting occurs, these will be the main points of focus:
“— Updates on the recommendations from the medical advisory committee about safety protocols for the next phase.
“— How the schools will treat players who opt out of the season over concerns about coronavirus.
“— Eligibility extensions for players who opt out.
“— Making sure none of the schools ask players to sign Covid-19 liability waivers.”
You very probably have an opinion on the politics of this larger situation — there’s nothing wrong with that. Just keep in mind how new and unprecedented this situation is. The simple fact that this discussion ever took place is the biggest takeaway. Let’s see where this goes, allowing for many bumps and detours along the way.
Though we are naturally interested in whether the Pac-12 football season starts on Sept. 26, and whether the college football season will get off the ground, the bigger question is where this will lead college sports in the next two, five, or 10 years.
That story is only beginning to be written. Let’s see how it all plays out.