'Play College Football,' Trump Demands

He weighs in after reports Big Ten Conference has called off fall season
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 10, 2020 4:58 PM CDT
Trump: 'Play College Football!'
President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Trump was quick to weigh in following reports Monday that the Big Ten Conference has voted to cancel the fall season. "Play College Football!" the president tweeted. He also retweeted a post from Clemson University quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who said "we all want to play football" and called for universal health and safety procedures, the Hill reports. "The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled," Trump added, using the #WeWantToPlay hashtag that some prominent players have added to their calls to save the college football season.

Lawmakers including Republicans Sens. Marco Rubio and Ben Sasse also called Monday for college football to go on despite the pandemic, Politico reports. "This is a moment for leadership,” Sasse wrote to the Big Ten Conference, whose decision is likely to influence whether other conferences proceed with a fall football season. "These young men need a season. Please don’t cancel college football." He added that while there "are no guarantees that college football will be completely safe," the "structure and discipline of football programs is very likely safer than what the lived experience of 18- to 22-year-olds will be if there isn’t a season." (More college football stories.)

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