Hometown Broadcasting Sports Wednesday 7/15/20
15 July 2020 Sports
The Packers are getting in on the push for mask wearing. On Tuesday, the team released a video of one of their newest members, quarterback Jordan Love, calling for people to “wear the right equipment” to keep everyone safe. The message emphasizes the idea of teamwork when it comes to keeping the state as safe as possible.
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Five University of Wisconsin institutions canceled intercollegiate sports on their smaller, satellite campuses for a year. They include UW-Green Bay’s campuses in Manitowoc, Marinette and Sheboygan and UW-Oshkosh access campuses in Fond du Lac and the Fox Cities.
Sports affected by these cancellations include golf, soccer, basketball and volleyball. UW-Oshkosh says 70 students at the Fond du Lac and Fox Cities campuses participated in sports last school year. UW-Green Bay says this will affect a total of 87 athletes across their three satellite campuses. Green Bay’s Marinette campus, which has 24 student athletes, won the Wisconsin Collegiate Conference volleyball state championship last season.
University leaders cited the problems with the coronavirus pandemic, including providing athletic trainers, cleaning facilities, and other logistical issues. Students will still be allowed to use campuses’ athletics facilities. Sports are also canceled for the satellite campuses of UW-Stevens Point, UW-Platteville and UW-Eau Claire.
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Fond du Lac’s Braelon Allen announced his decision to attend the University of Wisconsin on his Twitter account Tuesday night. Allen is headed into his junior year and is the first commitment for the 2022 recruiting class for the Badgers. The Badgers recruited him as a safety where he had 48 tackles, 4 sacks and 3 interceptions last season as a sophomore for the Cardinals. He chose Wisconsin over Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame. The 4-star recruit is ranked as the 116th best player in the country and 6th best safety for the class of 2022.
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The NFL and NFL Players Association continue to negotiate terms for a return to work, and players are requesting financial backing in case they decide to sit out the season. Among the requests in the players’ recent proposal to the league, according to a source involved:
- An opt-out clause for at-risk players to receive salary (but not bonuses) if they decide not to play.
- An opt-out clause for players with at-risk families to earn an accrued season and benefits if they decide not to play.
- An opt-out clause for players who leave the team after reporting (terms uncertain).
- A $250,000 stipend guaranteed to all players if they show up to camp and everything is shut down because of COVID-19 concerns. That amount rises to $500,000 if the season starts, only to be shut down.
The definition of “at-risk” is part of the discussion, and procedures for applying for medical opt-outs are not yet finalized.
If a player is serving a suspension and the season gets canceled, the games unserved will not carry into the next season. According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, players also want no salary in escrow for 2020 and no reduction in the 2021 salary cap, despite projected revenue loss, which they’d prefer to spread over multiple years. The league’s initial ask to place 35% of this year’s salaries in escrow is considered a nonstarter. A source told Graziano that no further conversations between the NFL and NFLPA are scheduled for Wednesday after the two sides talked each of the past two days.
Several issues remain unresolved. Players want testing every day and no preseason games, while the league wants testing less frequently (such as every other day) and two preseason games. Upon returning to camp, players want a lengthy acclimation period before beginning full practices to avoid injuries and to get comfortable in the new working environment.
Both sides must decide whether trimming the 90-man training camp rosters to avoid unnecessary contact is the right thing. On the equipment front, the league has worked with Oakley on a protective face shield, but players are lukewarm on that.
Both sides want camp and want to play, so the goal is to get there, survive the likely initial wave of positive tests and manage expectations from there.
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