Justin Fields on Good Morning America: Players Feel Safer at Football Facility

Justin Fields, the star Ohio State quarterback who circulated a petition over the weekend that has garnered 278,000 signatures asking the Big Ten to un-cancel football season, was interviewed on Good Morning America today by Michael Strahan:

.@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields speaks with @michaelstrahan about his “We Want to Play” petition and why he says players feel safer inside their training facilities. https://t.co/K88Cs77f3a pic.twitter.com/iuT1VCGl3Q

— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 19, 2020

“My main message that I would like to get across to the Big Ten commissioner is just that we want to play football,” Fields said. “I feel like a lot of players feel more safe around the facility, around our protocols, rather than just being around campus like a regular student. For example, our safety protocol is we get tested twice a week. Around the facility, everyone wears a mask and stuff like that. I feel like a lot of players feel more safe around the facility rather than being out in the community without being tested twice a week.”

What is notable about this, as Strahan pointed out, is that Fields would be a top five pick in the 2021 NFL Draft even if this season were canceled. There’s probably more financial risk than upside to him by wanting to play, but he said his motivation is the love of the game of football, Ohio State, his coaches, and his teammates.

This segment is key because it shows that Fields’ movement is spreading beyond just the sports bubble, and into general daytime news. This is not a story that is going away for Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and the university presidents.

Whether or not the central Big Ten is listening to Fields, there’s a new report that the Ohio State administration is angling for a six-team season this Fall. It’ll be fascinating to see how that all plays out.