Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence becomes a leading voice for #WeWantToPlay message

Tom Gatto

Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence becomes a leading voice for #WeWantToPlay message image

As the internet blasted out rumor after rumor Sunday that the 2020 FBS college football season will be postponed this week, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence made a case for the game to go on.

Lawrence's reasoning, as he laid out in a Twitter thread? That players would be less at risk for COVID-19 if they were under team supervision rather than away from the facilities.

The Tigers star — a potential No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick next year — earlier called for a way to move forward on a season.

Sunday night, Lawrence, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and Alabama running back Najee Harris helped to raised the stakes; they were among those who introduced a campaign for players to unionize, using the #WeWantToPlay hashtag, adding their voices to those of Pac-12 and Big Ten players who have called on schools to do more to ensure their health. Players across the nation sent out the same tweet in a coordinated effort to gain recognition.

MORE: List of notable college football players opting out of 2020 season

Lawrence's tweets about players being better off playing were followed by a spike in #WeWantToPlay tweets:

Reports Sunday centered on the Big Ten possibly canceling fall sports in 2020 and/or moving them to the spring 2021. The conference would be the second FBS league to call off play in the fall: The Mid-American Conference announced Saturday it is postponing its season to the spring.

President Donald Trump joined the #WeWantToPlay movement on Monday by tweeting his support.

Trump tweeted: "The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled. #WeWantToPlay." 

Later Monday, Trump shared another tweet that said: "Play College Football!"

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.