Illinois LB Tweets About 'Blatant Disregard for Student Athletes', Has Media Availability Postponed

The college football season may still be played, perhaps on time or in the spring. If so, it will happen in the shadow of some rather large concerns. Across the country right now, players are gathering to prepare for potential pigskin and bracing for the inevitable crush of other students showing up on campus. That is, if it's deemed safe enough for non-athletes to return at all.

Predictably, some players are expressing real issues with the situation, including Illinois linebacker Milo Eifler.

I understand that people want to see us play this season but in reality how can a team full of 100+ student athletes fully function during a pandemic. Trust, my teammates and I want to play. But schools around the country are showing blatant disregard for student athletes.
— Milo (@_miloeifler) July 1, 2020

The timing of the tweet just so happened to dovetail with a scheduled Zoom call with media members, which was postponed as school officials looked into Eifler's reservations. That's what they call a scramble in the ol' PR game.

#illini LB was supposed to talk with media today. But after this tweet, Illini SID sent out email saying: "We are postponing Milo Eifler’s Zoom interview until a later date. We are taking this time to learn about Milo’s concerns expressed on Twitter." https://t.co/n5eUmSkDKf
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) July 1, 2020

Eifler, who transferred from Washington, recorded 63 tackles and 10 tackles for a loss last season. His opinion is surely not unique and shared by football players being asked to compete under the most tenuous of conditions. One imagines there will be plenty of future episodes that mirror this one.