vox--2020-08-11--Kamala Harris is the choice Joe Biden needed to win over Silicon Valley

For months , Silicon Valley hasn ’ t been quite sure what to make of Joe Biden .
But Kamala Harris ?
That ’ s a candidate the industry can get behind .
Biden ’ s selection of Harris — who has glad-handed with San Francisco elites for decades — as his choice for vice president is likely to usher in Silicon Valley excitement and money galore in a way that other running mates would not .
For a top-of-the-ticket that has struggled until recently to excite the wealthiest and most powerful tech moguls , Harris will bring super-fans from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ coffers , especially over the next few days .
Even though it makes Biden more dependent on these big donors .
And on policy , the selection of the California senator offers some reassurance to the tech industry that has nervously watched the rise of the party ’ s far-left .
Biden has not made tech issues a priority during the campaign , which has created uncertainty about how seriously his administration would pursue regulation or even a breakup of tech giants .
With Harris — a policy pragmatist who enjoys close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden sends another signal that his administration will not veer toward the policies pushed by those like Elizabeth Warren , a vice-presidential short-lister that he didn ’ t choose who wants to break up Big Tech .
Cooper Teboe , a top Democratic fundraiser in Silicon Valley , said about one-third of major West Coast donors that he ’ s spoken to have been waiting to see who Biden would choose as vice president before deciding whether to invest tens of thousands of dollars into Democrats this cycle .
Should Biden have chosen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might ’ ve had concerns .
“ She is the safest pick for the donor community , ” Teboe said of Harris .
“ She will be the pick that the California , Silicon Valley donor community — who are worried about things like tech and repatriation and taxes and so on and so forth — she is the pick that they will be happiest with.
” “ She is the pick that they will be happiest with.
” Harris ’ ties to this power set will be highlighted in just a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high-dollar fundraiser with a Bay Area fundraising group , Electing Women Bay Area , according to an invitation seen by Recode .
Harris ’ s special touch with the ultra-rich has been integral to her political ascent in San Francisco , where she first served for district attorney before her statewide wins as Attorney General and US Senator .
Harris was a regular presence on the city ’ s cocktail circuit and has been profiled in society pages ever since her 30 ’ s .
Her campaigns were funded by the old-money families @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When that boom did arrive , Harris capitalized and built an orbit of new-money fans that she will further bring into the Biden fold .
Her biggest donors over the last two decades reads like a who ’ s who list of tech moguls : Salesforce founder Marc Benioff has told Recode that Harris “ one of the highest integrity people I have ever met.
” Early Facebook president Sean Parker invited Harris to his wedding .
Fundraisers for her presidential bid included billionaire Democratic power brokers like Reid Hoffman and John Doerr @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Bay Area donors , recalled Harris as a “ workhorse ” when it came to making fundraising calls during her first run for California attorney general in 2009 .
“ She ’ d work the whole list , ” he said , “ and then ask for more names.
” One particularly close bond for Harris has been with Democratic mega-donor Laurene Powell Jobs , the billionaire philanthropist and the wife of the late Steve Jobs .
When Powell Jobs appeared on stage to speak at the annual Code Conference in 2017 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I thought you would find it more interesting , ” than having just herself , Powell Jobs remarked on stage .
On Tuesday , she tweeted that Biden had “ made a great choice !
” But all these ties will prove double-edged in a Democratic Party that has grown concerned about the wealth accumulated by these billionaires and their political influence .
The same goes for their tech companies , which are now the subject of antitrust scrutiny and a broader rethink of Silicon Valley ’ s corporate power .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ who has expressed concerns about Biden listening too much to tech billionaires , said Harris could pull off a “ Nixon-to-China moment.
” In other words , only someone like her could push through certain regulations , because of her credibility with the tech community .
“ As senator from California , Kamala Harris was understandably aligned with Big Tech , ” said McNamee .
“ As vice president , she has an opportunity to stand up for all Americans.
” Some activists are concerned that her personal ties to tech companies will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manager for her first race for district attorney , for instance , now runs the California state policy shop at Google .
And Tony West , her brother-in-law , with whom she is close , is the general counsel of Uber , where her niece worked until recently .
Harris also has connections at Facebook , a company at the burning core of Democrats ’ ire these days .
Harris — who served as California ’ s top law enforcement official — has enjoyed a particularly cozy relationship with Facebook no .
2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sandberg market her book “ Lean In.
” Sandberg also sent her a congratulatory note when she won her Senate seat in 2016 , as The Huffington Post detailed .
Sandberg hadn ’ t publicly said anything of significance about Biden this cycle .
But then on Tuesday , Sandberg took to Instagram to note the historic selection of Harris as the first Black woman on a major ticket ( although the longtime Democrat didn ’ t explicitly endorse Biden-Harris ) .
All of this leaves people wondering if Harris will be tough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Facebook if she becomes vice president .
Harris strongly pressed Mark Zuckerberg when he appeared before Congress .
But she has equivocated when asked during her own bid how she would handle antitrust matters .
She has dodged when asked point-blank whether the tech giants should be broken up .
“ The tech companies have got to be regulated in a way that we can ensure and the American consumer can be certain that their privacy is not being compromised , ” she told the New York Times .
She also tried at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , calling on founder Jack Dorsey to ban Trump from the platform .
That didn ’ t go anywhere — and Harris dropped out thereafter .
Now , she has another shot at reining in Silicon Valley , if she wants to take it .

For months, Silicon Valley hasn’t been quite sure what to make of former Vice President Joe Biden.
But Sen. Kamala Harris? That’s a candidate the industry can get behind.
Biden’s selection of Harris — who has glad-handed with San Francisco elites for decades — as his choice for vice president is likely to usher in Silicon Valley excitement and money galore in a way that other running mates would not. For a top-of-the-ticket that has struggled until recently to excite the wealthiest and most powerful tech moguls, Harris will bring superfans from the billionaire class that will supercharge Democrats’ coffers, even though it makes Biden more dependent on these big donors.
On policy, the selection of the California senator offers some reassurance to the tech industry that has nervously watched the rise of the party’s far left. Biden has not made tech issues a priority during the campaign, which has created uncertainty about how seriously his administration would pursue regulation or even a breakup of tech giants. With Harris — a policy pragmatist who enjoys close relationships with many leading tech executives — Biden sends another signal that his administration will not veer toward the policies pushed by those like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a vice-presidential shortlister who wants to break up Big Tech.
Cooper Teboe, a top Democratic fundraiser in Silicon Valley, said about one-third of major West Coast donors that he’s spoken to have been waiting to see who Biden would choose as vice president before deciding whether to invest tens of thousands of dollars into Democrats this cycle. If Biden had chosen Warren, for instance, tech donors might have had concerns.
“She is the safest pick for the donor community,” Teboe said of Harris. “She will be the pick that the California, Silicon Valley donor community — who are worried about things like tech and repatriation and taxes and so on and so forth — she is the pick that they will be happiest with.”
“She is the pick that they will be happiest with”
Harris’s ties to this power set will be highlighted in just a few days when she headlines a high-dollar fundraiser with a Bay Area fundraising group, Electing Women Bay Area, according to an invitation seen by Recode.
Harris’s special touch with the ultra-rich has been integral to her political ascent in San Francisco, where she first served as district attorney before her statewide wins as attorney general and then US senator. Harris was a regular presence on the city’s cocktail circuit and has been profiled in society pages ever since her 30s. Her campaigns were funded by the old-money families that predated the modern tech boom.
When that boom did arrive, Harris capitalized and built an orbit of new-money fans that she will further bring into the Biden fold. Her biggest donors over the last two decades read like a who’s who list of tech moguls: Salesforce founder Marc Benioff has told Recode that Harris is “one of the highest integrity people I have ever met.” Early Facebook president Sean Parker invited Harris to his wedding. Fundraisers for her presidential bid included billionaire Democratic power brokers like Reid Hoffman and John Doerr.
Chris Lehane, a longtime adviser to Bay Area donors, recalled Harris as a “workhorse” when it came to making fundraising calls during her first run for California attorney general in 2009.
“She’d work the whole list,” he said, “and then ask for more names.”
One particularly close bond for Harris has been with Democratic mega-donor Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire philanthropist and wife of the late Steve Jobs. When Powell Jobs was invited to speak at the annual Code Conference in 2017, she brought Harris along with her.
“I thought you would find it more interesting” than having just herself, Powell Jobs remarked onstage. On Tuesday, she tweeted that Biden had “made a great choice!”
But all these ties will prove double-edged in a Democratic Party that has grown concerned about the wealth accumulated by these billionaires and their political influence. The same goes for their tech companies, which are now the subject of antitrust scrutiny and a broader rethink of Silicon Valley’s corporate power.
Roger McNamee, a Silicon Valley investor who has expressed concerns about Biden listening too much to tech billionaires, said Harris could pull off a “Nixon-to-China moment.” In other words, only someone like her could push through certain regulations because of her credibility with the tech community.
“As senator from California, Kamala Harris was understandably aligned with Big Tech,” said McNamee. “As vice president, she has an opportunity to stand up for all Americans.”
Some activists are concerned that her personal ties to tech companies will temper serious regulations. Harris’s campaign manager for her first race for district attorney, for example, now runs the California state policy shop at Google. And Tony West, her brother-in-law, is the general counsel of Uber, where her niece worked until recently.
Harris also has connections at Facebook, a company at the burning core of Democrats’ ire these days. She has enjoyed a particularly cozy relationship with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg over the years, helping Sandberg market her book Lean In. Sandberg also sent her a congratulatory note when she won her Senate seat in 2016, as the HuffPost detailed.
Sandberg hadn’t publicly said anything of significance about Biden this cycle. But then on Tuesday, she took to Instagram to note the historic selection of Harris as the first Black woman on a major party ticket (although the longtime Democrat didn’t explicitly endorse Biden-Harris).
All of this leaves people wondering if Harris will be tough — or easy — on companies like Facebook if she becomes vice president.
Harris strongly pressed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg when he appeared before Congress. But she has equivocated when asked during her own presidential bid how she would handle antitrust matters. She has also consistently dodged when asked point-blank whether tech giants should be broken up, only saying that “we have to seriously take a look at that.”
“The tech companies have got to be regulated in a way that we can ensure and the American consumer can be certain that their privacy is not being compromised,” she told the New York Times.
She also tried at one point to get tough on Twitter, calling on founder Jack Dorsey to ban President Trump from the platform. That didn’t go anywhere — and Harris dropped out thereafter.
Now, she has another shot at reining in Silicon Valley, if she wants to take it.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-11--College football’s coronavirus crisis, explained

The Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences have canceled all fall sports for 2020 , including college football .
So far , other major conferences ’ football seasons ( the SEC , for example ) aren ’ t canceled — yet .
The decision came amid general scrutiny of the multibillion-dollar industry ’ s Covid-19 response , and unprecedented organizing among players for better safety standards .
On Sunday , players from college football ’ s five major conferences — including Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence , one of the sport ’ s biggest names — put out a joint statement .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ season , but with conditions that would make playing safer .
It was a historic step — players from across the elite tier of college football , working together to organize on behalf of student-athletes and their safety .
It was also one that President Donald Trump seemed to support — without having read the players ’ actual demands .
Monday afternoon , Trump retweeted Lawrence ’ s statement , adding , “ The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled ” ( though he did not comment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ universal safety protocols or for the creation of a players ’ association ) .
He then tweeted , “ Play College Football !
” and a video using the # WeWanttoPlay hashtag being used by some players and coaches .
Then , in an interview with Fox Sports on Tuesday , Trump said that college football games should be played , incorrectly asserting that Covid-19 “ just attacks old people , especially old people with bad hearts , diabetes , or some kind of physical problem.
” He added , “ These football @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re not going to see people dying.
” Players have gotten seriously ill , however .
And at least five big-time college football players have decided to forgo the season to prepare for the NFL draft , citing concerns about coronavirus transmission .
Multiple schools have experienced breakouts of the virus that necessitated two-week suspensions of workouts , just days before the season is expected to — maybe — begin in early September .
One Division I university , the University of Connecticut , was the first to cancel its 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University of Massachusetts on Tuesday .
And in the biggest domino to fall so far , the Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday that it would be postponing all fall sports for the 2020 season , with the ( remote ) possibility of play resuming in those sports in the spring .
In a statement , Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said , “ As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee , it became abundantly clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall.
” Other conferences could follow .
As Yahoo Sports reporter Pete Thamel put it last week , “ The downward spiral for college football shutting down in 2020 has begun.
” That ’ s a big , big problem for college football programs that have become the financial backbone of university athletic departments .
For example , Oregon State University ’ s football team generates 80 percent of the athletic department ’ s revenue .
And the fallout could go far beyond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for instance , has a media rights deal with CBS , ESPN , and Fox worth an estimated $ 2.64 billion .
The Pac-12 has gone so far as to pursue a massive loan , promising roughly $ 84 million to each member school to make up for lost revenue in case the season is canceled .
But one entity critical to college football is highly unlikely to receive a bailout : the players themselves , several of which have contracted Covid-19 and suffered serious physical consequences .
In response , players in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Big Ten ) have formed unity groups , asking for better Covid-19 testing and protection .
In the case of # WeAreUnited , the Pac-12 group , they also stated a willingness to boycott workouts and games unless their demands are met .
The entire apparatus of one of the country ’ s most popular sports depends on college students who are not compensated for their work , college students who find themselves at risk of long-term injury and now a potentially deadly virus while their coaches and administrators make millions .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , players across the country are starting to stand up and say : not so fast .
“ At the high end of college athletics , it ’ s hard to overstate how big a business it is ” There are multiple levels of college football , and each has different power dynamics internally between players and the school , and externally with fans and corporations .
But the so-called “ Power Five ” — a group of five major Division I conferences whose schools can compete for entry into the College Football @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) and the Big Ten , and individual powerhouses like Notre Dame — is the elite tier .
And schools within the Power Five conferences generate a gargantuan amount of money from football , which they then use to support so-called “ non-revenue ” sports like track and field or rowing , that make far less money from ticket sales .
How much money ?
From 2017 to 2018 , the University of Oklahoma football program generated $ 102.3 million , and the University of Georgia a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department with $ 84.1 million in revenue after operating expenses were accounted for .
While clearly not every program makes that kind of money , many college athletic departments are highly dependent on those funds .
It ’ s also worth noting that university athletic departments are nonprofit organizations , so that revenue generated is not taxed .
That means the potential financial hit from a college football-free autumn — or even a season played without fans in stadiums — would be immense , for small and large schools alike .
Matt Brown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the independent newsletter Extra Points , told me that the money college football generates goes far beyond ticket sales ( which for smaller universities , like the University of Memphis , can bring in as much as $ 4.5 million , and for bigger schools , like Ohio State , as much as $ 60 million ) .
“ They make money by charging 30 bucks to park your car , they make money selling you a $ 4 bottle of water , and six bucks for a hot dog , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school could make close to 10 million dollars , if not more , just from tickets and game-day revenue over the course of a football season .
The bigger the stadium , the more money is at risk.
” And for major powers , like the University of Alabama , Clemson University , or the University of Texas , Brown told me there ’ s far more at stake .
“ For big schools , there ’ s also tens of millions of dollars in potential broadcast revenue , that requires games to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tied up in apparel contracts , multimedia rights , alumni donations , sponsorships , and more.
” For example , the University of Texas has a $ 250 million apparel deal with Nike , and in the 2019 fiscal year the football program alone generated nearly $ 50 million in contributions from alumni .
Brown told me that while many teams are cutting salaries and laying off athletic department staff , that likely won ’ t help if there is no college football season this year , and schools will likely have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Stanford , already have , dropping 11 sports at the end of the 2020- ’ 21 school year because , as the school ’ s press office put it , “ Stanford Athletics can not support 36 varsity sports at a championship level while also remaining financially sustainable.
” Brown reiterated that the drive to have a college football season of some kind was led in part by how critical college football — and the money it brings in — is , not just to athletic departments but to universities and entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , home of the University of Michigan , doubles every single football Saturday as more than 110,000 attend football games ( I went to Michigan , and many of my most foolish purchases have been tied to the school ’ s football program ) .
Football isn ’ t a part of the brand of many high-level universities involved in college football — it is their brand .
“ At the high end of college athletics , it ’ s hard to overstate how big a business it is , and how important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operation of the actual university , ” Brown told me .
“ Ohio State University might have a billion-dollar budget and do a ton of stuff that has nothing to do with football , but for the state lawmakers , and the general public , the biggest way they interface with this school isn ’ t their agriculture extension campus , or the cool art museum on campus .
It ’ s football.
” But college football isn ’ t played by professional athletes .
It ’ s played by college students , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NCAA refers to them .
And while professional athletes in the NBA and WNBA have been ensconced in “ bubbles ” intended to isolate them and protect them from Covid-19 as the season restart has begun — so far , successfully — college football players have not .
“ I have to set my wishes aside for the wellness of my family , community and beyond ” The NCAA has issued some guidance to member conferences and universities regarding Covid-19 and student-athletes .
The governing body of college sports has said schools should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in sports over Covid-19 concerns without losing their scholarships , and schools can ’ t ask athletes to waive their legal rights ( as in , refuse to sue their schools ) in order to play their sport .
But the NCAA has largely left enforcement of any of these suggested policies to conferences and individual schools , with predictably mixed results .
While some schools are testing players multiple times a week , others are only testing players who exhibit symptoms .
And despite NCAA guidance , some schools are allegedly demanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ play .
As one parent of a player at Notre Dame told the Washington Post , “ It just seems like everyone ’ s freelancing .
The NCAA has rules and guidelines for everything under the sun .
... How are they not making any rules for this ?
” Nicole Auerbach , a college football writer for the Athletic , told me that because college sports aren ’ t creating a “ bubble ” environment in which athletes are tested daily and isolated from others , “ there were always going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can do.
” She added , “ There are real concerns from players about their fellow students returning , too.
” That can even include athletes in other sports .
For example , classes haven ’ t even begun at the University of Louisville , but an August 1 party attended by members of the men ’ s and women ’ s soccer programs , the volleyball team , and the field hockey team led to 29 Covid-19 cases and a temporary shutdown of workouts and practices .
And those are athletes being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students at the University of Oregon or Michigan State University , both of which will be holding at least some in-person classes , won ’ t be .
Several high-level college football players have contracted the coronavirus , and they ’ ve shared what the experience was like on social media — and contrary to President Trump , the aftereffects of the virus have been extremely serious .
LSU senior linebacker Travez Moore tweeted that he lost 27 pounds as a result of the virus , and was still having trouble eating because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
University of Houston junior defensive lineman Sedrick Williams posted on Facebook that after contracting the coronavirus over the summer , he had “ complications with [ his ] heart ” and would be opting out of playing during the 2020 season .
Auburn defensive back Traivon Leonard made a similar announcement on Instagram .
Those experiences have led other high-level players to decide to opt out of the season , like Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman , expected to be a top pick in next year ’ s NFL draft .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around health and safety in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic , I have to set my wishes aside for the wellness of my family , community and beyond , ” he said in a video posted on Twitter .
Auerbach said , “ There ’ s no way to ensure anything ; the best [ schools ] can do is mitigate risk and mitigate spread the best they can .
For a lot of athletes , as we ’ re getting closer to the actual start of the season , we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not enough.
” And that ’ s not to mention programs that may be urging players to not report coronavirus symptoms or risk losing valuable playing time .
At Colorado State University , for example , players and staff have alleged that the athletic department is doctoring contact tracing reports and asking players not to tell trainers if they have exhibited symptoms .
One player who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Fort Collins Coloradoan , “ I believe there is a cover-up going on at CSU , but they could only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we have so many cases across athletics , they can ’ t cover it up anymore .
It ’ s not about the health and safety of the players but about just trying to make money off the players.
’ ’ In response to a request for comment , CSU associate athletic director Kyle Neaves directed me to previous statements and said that the university “ does not intend to comment further ” until an investigation was completed .
It ’ s the money behind college football — billions of dollars in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and individual coaches — that has widened the gap not just between big programs and small programs , but between coaches who make millions of dollars and players who are expected to maintain the “ amateur ” ideal the NCAA purports to uphold .
After all , the sport could protect players in much the way several professional sports leagues have effectively done .
College football administrators could , for example , construct a “ bubble ” for players , like the NFL and NBA , to isolate them from their classmates and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus .
But that would mean finally seeing the large , markedly quiet elephant in the room : that college football is a sport played by a highly professionalized workforce , one that could be unionized ( though that might prove challenging legally ) , able to negotiate the terms of how , when , and where they play , and perhaps even receive compensation for their work .
As the Ringer ’ s Rodger Sherman wrote Monday , the entire construct of college football is based on the idea that elite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students .
He wrote , “ The NCAA doesn ’ t even allow schools to build residence halls for athletes without those also housing at least 51 percent general population students so as not to provide ‘ special treatment.
’ ” But the imaginary ideal of amateurism is an elephant the players are increasingly organizing around .
To be clear , it ’ s not just the coronavirus : Just like the rest of the country , college football players ( who , in Division I , are predominantly black ) are also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But the growth of a players movement in college football , one more willing to speak out and demand change than perhaps ever before , was accelerated by the coronavirus crisis that has put the very sport — and billions of dollars — at risk .
“ For four months , [ players have ] heard how important it is to have a college football season this fall , how much money is at stake .
They ’ ve seen the dollar figures , ” Auerbach said .
“ Well , those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve never had more of it than they do now.
” Over the summer , a group of Pac-12 college football players joined forces on group texts and Zoom calls to put together a list of demands , asking the Pac-12 Conference to ensure safer playing conditions , economic equality , an end to racial inequality in the sport .
They were led by Cal offensive lineman Jake Curhan , who read a CBS Sports piece in which a computer scientist explained that he expected to see a 30 to 50 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ playing college football this fall , with at least three deaths .
As Auerbach explained to me , Curhan began talking to teammates , who then started speaking with players at other Pac-12 schools , holding Zoom calls and creating a GroupMe group chat that now includes more than 400 players from Pac-12 schools .
Using the hashtag # WeAreUnited , players posted a list of those demands on the website the Player ’ s Tribune on August 2 : The players added that if their demands were not met , they would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game participation ” due to concerns about Covid-19 and the virus ’ s potential risks .
Those players were followed by a group of Big Ten athletes , who posted their own proposal for the upcoming season in the Player ’ s Tribune on August 5 .
Unlike the Pac-12 group , Big 10 players — using the hashtag # BigTenUnited — did not include any asks regarding compensation , and emphasized that they were looking to work with the conference .
But they criticized the NCAA ’ s coronavirus approach in stark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — which is known for its zeal for regulations and enforcement — has had ample time to prepare for the safe return of its athletes to competition , yet it has done nothing .
Its laissez-faire approach is forcing each conference and each school to create its own plan , resulting in inconsistent policies , procedures and protocols.
” Auerbach told me that players uniting to speak out for better and safer playing conditions “ honestly feels incredibly overdue , ” given the longstanding power divide between players and their coaches in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noting that of some players who did not sign onto the # WeAreUnited letter , several did so not because they didn ’ t agree with the message , but because they needed to play in order to get to the NFL and support their families .
Washington State defensive lineman Lamonte McDougle posted on Twitter that he agreed with the movement but he had people he needed to support financially .
“ so if the NCAA wants to use me as a lab rat it is what it is.
” Bomani Jones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the sports website the Undefeated , told me that the coronavirus pandemic and the reemergence of the Black Lives Matter movement coalesced into one big opportunity for athletic activism — “ all of these things are absolutely connected , ” he said .
And Jones , also a sportswriter and radio host with ESPN , emphasized in his conversations with players that none of them had an “ ax to grind ” with coaches , and recognized that their coaches and staff cared about them .
But the players “ just don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they don ’ t think [ this season ] is feasible , and they have more information than individual coaches or administrations.
” He noted that players were in constant communication with players at other Pac-12 universities , and were well aware that while Stanford , for example , might be following coronavirus safety protocols , other schools might not be .
Some college football players appeared to respond to the twin movements with some hesitancy , using the hashtag # WeWantToPlay to emphasize their desire to play this season regardless of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a desire to get their voices heard , and they joined forces to do so .
On Sunday night , players from each Power Five conference , including Pac-12 players , alongside Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence , Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields , and Michigan cornerback Hunter Reynolds ( one of the leaders of # BigTenUnited ) , got together on a Zoom call to unify on common demands and a common message , including the desire to ultimately create a college football players association .
With the help of Washington State defensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ graphic that players in every Power Five conference could share on social media .
In an interview with Yahoo Sports , Reynolds said one of the points of emphasis for the Zoom call was that players do , in fact , want to play football , but want to do so without fear of contracting the coronavirus .
“ There ’ s kind of been this sentiment that if a player spoke out about wanting better procedures , better safety standards , that he didn ’ t want to play , ” Reynolds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opted out , that he or she didn ’ t want to play .
... As college athletes , we put hours , we put years into honing our craft in our sport .
We all do want to play .
We just want to play safely.
” They might not get a chance .
The college football season hangs in the balance , with a majority of Big Ten university presidents voting over the weekend to postpone or cancel the 2020 season .
That ’ s gotten a response from some politicians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , Rep. Jim Jordan ( R-OH ) , and Sen. Marco Rubio ( R-FL ) , who tweeted that this is all part of an effort to “ end the game , ” and that those urging universities to cancel the sport for the fall had “ no interest ” in another possibility .
College football is , after all , a big business , and universities — and politicians — recognize that the loss of a season would be a massive financial hit .
It would be a massive loss for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible way .
For thousands of college football players , football is a lifeline — as Clemson ’ s Lawrence tweeted over the weekend , “ Football is a safe haven for so many people .
We are more likely to get the virus in everyday life than playing football.
” But as Lawrence also noted , in order to do so there have to be uniform policies protecting players and ensuring that they don ’ t lose their scholarships or risk their futures by either playing this season or deciding not to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Loeffler and Rubio appear to support # WeWantToPlay , neither have noted that the players behind the hashtag want mandated universal safety protocols ( the types of which GOP politicians have stood against during the pandemic ) and a players association permitting players to organize on their own behalf .
College football is a multibillion-dollar industry built on a fallacy — that college football players can be mere “ amateurs ” and typical college students while everyone around them profits from their labor , from touchdowns and sacks and hours and hours and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But while the coronavirus has put the football season at risk , for some players it has given them a new opportunity : for activism and change , and , for the first time on the national level , perhaps a real voice in the process .
Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions , we weren ’ t sure how it would go .
Today , we ’ re humbled to say that nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a public health crisis , racial justice protests , a recession , and a presidential election .
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The Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences have canceled all fall sports for 2020, including college football. So far, other major conferences’ football seasons (the SEC, for example) aren’t canceled — yet.
The decision came amid general scrutiny of the multibillion-dollar industry’s Covid-19 response, and unprecedented organizing among players for better safety standards. On Sunday, players from college football’s five major conferences — including Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, one of the sport’s biggest names — put out a joint statement. They emphasized their desire to play this season, but with conditions that would make playing safer.
It was a historic step — players from across the elite tier of college football, working together to organize on behalf of student-athletes and their safety. It was also one that President Donald Trump seemed to support — without having read the players’ actual demands.
Monday afternoon, Trump retweeted Lawrence’s statement, adding, “The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled” (though he did not comment on the statement’s demands for universal safety protocols or for the creation of a players’ association). He then tweeted, “Play College Football!” and a video using the #WeWanttoPlay hashtag being used by some players and coaches.
The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled. #WeWantToPlay https://t.co/lI3CCKZ4ID — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2020
Then, in an interview with Fox Sports on Tuesday, Trump said that college football games should be played, incorrectly asserting that Covid-19 “just attacks old people, especially old people with bad hearts, diabetes, or some kind of physical problem.” He added, “These football players are very young strong people ... you’re not going to see people dying.”
Players have gotten seriously ill, however. And at least five big-time college football players have decided to forgo the season to prepare for the NFL draft, citing concerns about coronavirus transmission. Multiple schools have experienced breakouts of the virus that necessitated two-week suspensions of workouts, just days before the season is expected to — maybe — begin in early September. One Division I university, the University of Connecticut, was the first to cancel its 2020 college football season, joined by the University of Massachusetts on Tuesday.
And in the biggest domino to fall so far, the Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday that it would be postponing all fall sports for the 2020 season, with the (remote) possibility of play resuming in those sports in the spring. In a statement, Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said, “As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall.”
Other conferences could follow. As Yahoo Sports reporter Pete Thamel put it last week, “The downward spiral for college football shutting down in 2020 has begun.”
That’s a big, big problem for college football programs that have become the financial backbone of university athletic departments. For example, Oregon State University’s football team generates 80 percent of the athletic department’s revenue. And the fallout could go far beyond individual universities — the Big Ten, for instance, has a media rights deal with CBS, ESPN, and Fox worth an estimated $2.64 billion. The Pac-12 has gone so far as to pursue a massive loan, promising roughly $84 million to each member school to make up for lost revenue in case the season is canceled.
But one entity critical to college football is highly unlikely to receive a bailout: the players themselves, several of which have contracted Covid-19 and suffered serious physical consequences. In response, players in two conferences (the Pac-12 and the Big Ten) have formed unity groups, asking for better Covid-19 testing and protection. In the case of #WeAreUnited, the Pac-12 group, they also stated a willingness to boycott workouts and games unless their demands are met.
The entire apparatus of one of the country’s most popular sports depends on college students who are not compensated for their work, college students who find themselves at risk of long-term injury and now a potentially deadly virus while their coaches and administrators make millions. But in the wake of a coronavirus shake-up, players across the country are starting to stand up and say: not so fast.
“At the high end of college athletics, it’s hard to overstate how big a business it is”
There are multiple levels of college football, and each has different power dynamics internally between players and the school, and externally with fans and corporations. But the so-called “Power Five” — a group of five major Division I conferences whose schools can compete for entry into the College Football Playoff, made up of big-name conferences like the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Big Ten, and individual powerhouses like Notre Dame — is the elite tier.
And schools within the Power Five conferences generate a gargantuan amount of money from football, which they then use to support so-called “non-revenue” sports like track and field or rowing, that make far less money from ticket sales. How much money? From 2017 to 2018, the University of Oklahoma football program generated $102.3 million, and the University of Georgia a hefty $129 million, leaving the department with $84.1 million in revenue after operating expenses were accounted for. While clearly not every program makes that kind of money, many college athletic departments are highly dependent on those funds. It’s also worth noting that university athletic departments are nonprofit organizations, so that revenue generated is not taxed.
That means the potential financial hit from a college football-free autumn — or even a season played without fans in stadiums — would be immense, for small and large schools alike.
Matt Brown, a college football writer who runs the independent newsletter Extra Points, told me that the money college football generates goes far beyond ticket sales (which for smaller universities, like the University of Memphis, can bring in as much as $4.5 million, and for bigger schools, like Ohio State, as much as $60 million).
“They make money by charging 30 bucks to park your car, they make money selling you a $4 bottle of water, and six bucks for a hot dog,” he said. “A midlevel Power Five school could make close to 10 million dollars, if not more, just from tickets and game-day revenue over the course of a football season. The bigger the stadium, the more money is at risk.”
And for major powers, like the University of Alabama, Clemson University, or the University of Texas, Brown told me there’s far more at stake. “For big schools, there’s also tens of millions of dollars in potential broadcast revenue, that requires games to be played. There’s money tied up in apparel contracts, multimedia rights, alumni donations, sponsorships, and more.” For example, the University of Texas has a $250 million apparel deal with Nike, and in the 2019 fiscal year the football program alone generated nearly $50 million in contributions from alumni.
Brown told me that while many teams are cutting salaries and laying off athletic department staff, that likely won’t help if there is no college football season this year, and schools will likely have to cut some sports altogether. Some, like Stanford, already have, dropping 11 sports at the end of the 2020-’21 school year because, as the school’s press office put it, “Stanford Athletics cannot support 36 varsity sports at a championship level while also remaining financially sustainable.”
Brown reiterated that the drive to have a college football season of some kind was led in part by how critical college football — and the money it brings in — is, not just to athletic departments but to universities and entire communities. The population of Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, doubles every single football Saturday as more than 110,000 attend football games (I went to Michigan, and many of my most foolish purchases have been tied to the school’s football program). Football isn’t a part of the brand of many high-level universities involved in college football — it is their brand.
“At the high end of college athletics, it’s hard to overstate how big a business it is, and how important athletics is to the brand and business operation of the actual university,” Brown told me. “Ohio State University might have a billion-dollar budget and do a ton of stuff that has nothing to do with football, but for the state lawmakers, and the general public, the biggest way they interface with this school isn’t their agriculture extension campus, or the cool art museum on campus. It’s football.”
But college football isn’t played by professional athletes. It’s played by college students, or “student-athletes,” as the NCAA refers to them.
Student and athlete — a day in the life. pic.twitter.com/KBLa1gBLnq — NCAA (@NCAA) March 17, 2019
And while professional athletes in the NBA and WNBA have been ensconced in “bubbles” intended to isolate them and protect them from Covid-19 as the season restart has begun — so far, successfully — college football players have not.
“I have to set my wishes aside for the wellness of my family, community and beyond”
The NCAA has issued some guidance to member conferences and universities regarding Covid-19 and student-athletes. The governing body of college sports has said schools should allow athletes to opt out of participating in sports over Covid-19 concerns without losing their scholarships, and schools can’t ask athletes to waive their legal rights (as in, refuse to sue their schools) in order to play their sport.
But the NCAA has largely left enforcement of any of these suggested policies to conferences and individual schools, with predictably mixed results. While some schools are testing players multiple times a week, others are only testing players who exhibit symptoms. And despite NCAA guidance, some schools are allegedly demanding players sign liability waivers in order to play. As one parent of a player at Notre Dame told the Washington Post, “It just seems like everyone’s freelancing. The NCAA has rules and guidelines for everything under the sun. ... How are they not making any rules for this?”
Nicole Auerbach, a college football writer for the Athletic, told me that because college sports aren’t creating a “bubble” environment in which athletes are tested daily and isolated from others, “there were always going to be serious concerns about how much schools/leagues can do.”
She added, “There are real concerns from players about their fellow students returning, too.” That can even include athletes in other sports. For example, classes haven’t even begun at the University of Louisville, but an August 1 party attended by members of the men’s and women’s soccer programs, the volleyball team, and the field hockey team led to 29 Covid-19 cases and a temporary shutdown of workouts and practices. And those are athletes being regularly tested for the coronavirus — regular students at the University of Oregon or Michigan State University, both of which will be holding at least some in-person classes, won’t be.
Several high-level college football players have contracted the coronavirus, and they’ve shared what the experience was like on social media — and contrary to President Trump, the aftereffects of the virus have been extremely serious. LSU senior linebacker Travez Moore tweeted that he lost 27 pounds as a result of the virus, and was still having trouble eating because he had lost his sense of taste.
Bro coronavirus is real .. i was 256 now I’m 229 because i lost my appetite and it’s hard to eat plus you can barley breath. You can’t smell food you can’t taste food or taste any liquids.. stay y’all ass in the house https://t.co/GU66rkau0v — vezz (@moore_travez) August 4, 2020
University of Houston junior defensive lineman Sedrick Williams posted on Facebook that after contracting the coronavirus over the summer, he had “complications with [his] heart” and would be opting out of playing during the 2020 season. Auburn defensive back Traivon Leonard made a similar announcement on Instagram.
Auburn DB Traivon Leonard says on Instagram that he is also opting out of the 2020 season.
The senior says he contracted COVID-19 two weeks ago and has “an underlying condition that will not allow me to participate at the best of my ability throughout the season.” pic.twitter.com/EJMHD6xm3u — Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) August 7, 2020
Those experiences have led other high-level players to decide to opt out of the season, like Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman, expected to be a top pick in next year’s NFL draft. “Unfortunately, in light of the uncertainty around health and safety in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, I have to set my wishes aside for the wellness of my family, community and beyond,” he said in a video posted on Twitter.
Auerbach said, “There’s no way to ensure anything; the best [schools] can do is mitigate risk and mitigate spread the best they can. For a lot of athletes, as we’re getting closer to the actual start of the season, we’re seeing them realize that’s not enough.” And that’s not to mention programs that may be urging players to not report coronavirus symptoms or risk losing valuable playing time.
At Colorado State University, for example, players and staff have alleged that the athletic department is doctoring contact tracing reports and asking players not to tell trainers if they have exhibited symptoms. One player who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Fort Collins Coloradoan, “I believe there is a cover-up going on at CSU, but they could only cover it up so long and now that we have so many cases across athletics, they can’t cover it up anymore. It’s not about the health and safety of the players but about just trying to make money off the players.’’ In response to a request for comment, CSU associate athletic director Kyle Neaves directed me to previous statements and said that the university “does not intend to comment further” until an investigation was completed.
It’s the money behind college football — billions of dollars in revenue poured into universities, sponsors, and individual coaches — that has widened the gap not just between big programs and small programs, but between coaches who make millions of dollars and players who are expected to maintain the “amateur” ideal the NCAA purports to uphold.
After all, the sport could protect players in much the way several professional sports leagues have effectively done. College football administrators could, for example, construct a “bubble” for players, like the NFL and NBA, to isolate them from their classmates and allow them to play without risking contracting the coronavirus.
But that would mean finally seeing the large, markedly quiet elephant in the room: that college football is a sport played by a highly professionalized workforce, one that could be unionized (though that might prove challenging legally), able to negotiate the terms of how, when, and where they play, and perhaps even receive compensation for their work.
Reminder: Every CFB conference could build a bubble, but it would require admitting players are workers, and that would hurt the NCAA in court when it defends "amateurism." So instead, CFB's trying something that appears to be more dangerous and less likely to succeed https://t.co/QzcbTUtuOd — Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) August 5, 2020
As the Ringer’s Rodger Sherman wrote Monday, the entire construct of college football is based on the idea that elite college football players are actually normal college students. He wrote, “The NCAA doesn’t even allow schools to build residence halls for athletes without those also housing at least 51 percent general population students so as not to provide ‘special treatment.’” But the imaginary ideal of amateurism is an elephant the players are increasingly organizing around.
To be clear, it’s not just the coronavirus: Just like the rest of the country, college football players (who, in Division I, are predominantly black) are also responding to racism on and off campus. But the growth of a players movement in college football, one more willing to speak out and demand change than perhaps ever before, was accelerated by the coronavirus crisis that has put the very sport — and billions of dollars — at risk.
“For four months, [players have] heard how important it is to have a college football season this fall, how much money is at stake. They’ve seen the dollar figures,” Auerbach said. “Well, those dollar figures mean leverage, and they’ve never had more of it than they do now.”
#WeAreUnited, #BigTenUnited, and #WeWantToPlay
Over the summer, a group of Pac-12 college football players joined forces on group texts and Zoom calls to put together a list of demands, asking the Pac-12 Conference to ensure safer playing conditions, economic equality, an end to racial inequality in the sport.
They were led by Cal offensive lineman Jake Curhan, who read a CBS Sports piece in which a computer scientist explained that he expected to see a 30 to 50 percent infection rate of the approximately 13,000 players playing college football this fall, with at least three deaths. As Auerbach explained to me, Curhan began talking to teammates, who then started speaking with players at other Pac-12 schools, holding Zoom calls and creating a GroupMe group chat that now includes more than 400 players from Pac-12 schools.
Using the hashtag #WeAreUnited, players posted a list of those demands on the website the Player’s Tribune on August 2:
Because NCAA sports exploit college athletes physically, economically and academically, and also disproportionately harm Black college athletes, #WeAreUnited. In rejecting the NCAA’s claim that #BlackLivesMatter while also systematically exploiting Black athletes nationwide, #WeAreUnited. Because we are being asked to play college sports in a pandemic in a system without enforced health and safety standards, and without transparency about COVID cases on our teams, the risks to ourselves, our families, and our communities, #WeAreUnited.
The players added that if their demands were not met, they would “opt-out of Pac-12 fall camp and game participation” due to concerns about Covid-19 and the virus’s potential risks.
Those players were followed by a group of Big Ten athletes, who posted their own proposal for the upcoming season in the Player’s Tribune on August 5. Unlike the Pac-12 group, Big 10 players — using the hashtag #BigTenUnited — did not include any asks regarding compensation, and emphasized that they were looking to work with the conference.
But they criticized the NCAA’s coronavirus approach in stark terms, writing, “The NCAA — which is known for its zeal for regulations and enforcement — has had ample time to prepare for the safe return of its athletes to competition, yet it has done nothing. Its laissez-faire approach is forcing each conference and each school to create its own plan, resulting in inconsistent policies, procedures and protocols.”
Auerbach told me that players uniting to speak out for better and safer playing conditions “honestly feels incredibly overdue,” given the longstanding power divide between players and their coaches in the sport. And it’s worth noting that of some players who did not sign onto the #WeAreUnited letter, several did so not because they didn’t agree with the message, but because they needed to play in order to get to the NFL and support their families.
Washington State defensive lineman Lamonte McDougle posted on Twitter that he agreed with the movement but he had people he needed to support financially. “so if the NCAA wants to use me as a lab rat it is what it is.”
I agree with everything this movement is fighting especially the health concerns but not playing this season isn’t an option for me I got ppl that need to eat. so if the NCAA wants to use me as a lab rat it is what it is. — Lamonte McDougle (@ninetheslime) August 2, 2020
Bomani Jones, who wrote about the Pac-12 movement for the sports website the Undefeated, told me that the coronavirus pandemic and the reemergence of the Black Lives Matter movement coalesced into one big opportunity for athletic activism — “all of these things are absolutely connected,” he said.
And Jones, also a sportswriter and radio host with ESPN, emphasized in his conversations with players that none of them had an “ax to grind” with coaches, and recognized that their coaches and staff cared about them. But the players “just don’t think this is safe, they don’t think [this season] is feasible, and they have more information than individual coaches or administrations.”
He noted that players were in constant communication with players at other Pac-12 universities, and were well aware that while Stanford, for example, might be following coronavirus safety protocols, other schools might not be.
Some college football players appeared to respond to the twin movements with some hesitancy, using the hashtag #WeWantToPlay to emphasize their desire to play this season regardless of the pandemic. But what unified them was a desire to get their voices heard, and they joined forces to do so. On Sunday night, players from each Power Five conference, including Pac-12 players, alongside Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, and Michigan cornerback Hunter Reynolds (one of the leaders of #BigTenUnited), got together on a Zoom call to unify on common demands and a common message, including the desire to ultimately create a college football players association. With the help of Washington State defensive lineman Dallas Hobbs, they designed a graphic that players in every Power Five conference could share on social media.
In an interview with Yahoo Sports, Reynolds said one of the points of emphasis for the Zoom call was that players do, in fact, want to play football, but want to do so without fear of contracting the coronavirus.
“There’s kind of been this sentiment that if a player spoke out about wanting better procedures, better safety standards, that he didn’t want to play,” Reynolds said. “Or if a player opted out, that he or she didn’t want to play. ... As college athletes, we put hours, we put years into honing our craft in our sport. We all do want to play. We just want to play safely.”
They might not get a chance. The college football season hangs in the balance, with a majority of Big Ten university presidents voting over the weekend to postpone or cancel the 2020 season. That’s gotten a response from some politicians, like Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who tweeted that this is all part of an effort to “end the game,” and that those urging universities to cancel the sport for the fall had “no interest” in another possibility. College football is, after all, a big business, and universities — and politicians — recognize that the loss of a season would be a massive financial hit.
Even before #COVID19 many of those pushing to cancel #CollegeFootball have spent years trying to kill youth & high school football as a way to end the game.
They have no interest in getting to yes. Or in an honest cost-benefit analysis of playing versus not playing. — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 10, 2020
It would be a massive loss for players, too, in almost every possible way. For thousands of college football players, football is a lifeline — as Clemson’s Lawrence tweeted over the weekend, “Football is a safe haven for so many people. We are more likely to get the virus in everyday life than playing football.”
People are at just as much, if not more risk, if we don’t play. Players will all be sent home to their own communities where social distancing is highly unlikely and medical care and expenses will be placed on the families if they were to contract covid19 (1) — Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) August 9, 2020
But as Lawrence also noted, in order to do so there have to be uniform policies protecting players and ensuring that they don’t lose their scholarships or risk their futures by either playing this season or deciding not to. And interestingly, while Sens. Loeffler and Rubio appear to support #WeWantToPlay, neither have noted that the players behind the hashtag want mandated universal safety protocols (the types of which GOP politicians have stood against during the pandemic) and a players association permitting players to organize on their own behalf.
College football is a multibillion-dollar industry built on a fallacy — that college football players can be mere “amateurs” and typical college students while everyone around them profits from their labor, from touchdowns and sacks and hours and hours and hours of pain and long-lasting health effects. But while the coronavirus has put the football season at risk, for some players it has given them a new opportunity: for activism and change, and, for the first time on the national level, perhaps a real voice in the process.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-11--The Democratic National Convention just announced its speaker lineup

The Democratic National Convention is going fully virtual this year .
Rather than days of full programming , the convention will be condensed into two hours of televised speeches spread out from Monday , August 17 , to Thursday , August 20 .
Former Vice President Joe Biden is set to accept his party ’ s nomination on Thursday night from his home in Delaware , rather than the original planned location of Milwaukee , Wisconsin .
Fears about the Covid-19 outbreak and the potential to spread the virus even with a severely reduced crowd caused the Democratic National Committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Starting at 9 pm ET each night , the Democratic convention will be broadcast on all major television networks , social media sites like Facebook , Twitter , and YouTube , and streaming services like Apple TV and Roku .
The convention will also be streamed live from the DNC ’ s website .
The DNC lineup features big Democratic names including former first lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama , Sen. Bernie Sanders , Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , and Sens .
Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren .
The convention will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ohio Gov .
John Kasich , who will deliver an appeal to his fellow Republicans to support Biden for president .
The week will culminate with Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris accepting their nominations to be president and vice president .
These bigger names will give speeches Monday through Thursday , alongside American business owners , teachers , factory workers , and front-line health care workers .
Here ’ s the full lineup of speakers at this year ’ s Democratic National Convention .
There will be a slate of speakers each night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senators , governors , and US representatives .
The themes for each day include : Here ’ s the list of speakers , broken out by day .
• Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto ( D-NV ) , chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee • Rep. Bennie Thompson ( D-MS ) , chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security • Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , the 2016 Democratic nominee for president • Former Vice President Joe Biden accepts the Democratic nomination for president Why the DNC is virtual this year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convention would be a moment for unity and celebration .
But amid a once-in-a-century pandemic that ’ s claimed more than 163,000 American lives and counting , Democrats are hoping their virtual convention sends a larger message about how their nominee plans to govern in a time of national crisis .
With an absence of federal leadership from President Donald Trump , the Biden campaign and national Democrats are portraying themselves as the party of responsibility .
“ I ’ ve wanted to set an example as to how we should respond individually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a recent virtual fundraiser , speaking about the virtual convention .
“ From the start of the process , we ’ ve made it clear .
... Science matters.
” Democrats have known for months that the coronavirus meant the normal throng of thousands of cheering delegates was out of the question .
A recent public health order from Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett would have limited the convention ’ s in-person capacity to 250 people , but coronavirus cases in Wisconsin are also still on the rise , and interstate travel comes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures like mandatory masks and daily temperature checks already in place , some Democrats feared even the sparsest indoors convention could still potentially spread Covid-19 .
After Trump ’ s June rally in Tulsa , Oklahoma , coronavirus cases in that city surged , and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died of Covid-19 .
Democrats didn ’ t want to risk any new cases emerging from their national convention .
“ From the very beginning of this pandemic , we put the health and safety of the American people first , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement .
“ We followed the science , listened to doctors and public health experts , and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives .
That ’ s the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves .
And that ’ s the leadership Joe Biden will bring to the White House.
” Democrats want one message to dominate their convention : Where Trump has failed , Biden will lead America out of its current crisis .
“ People care about one thing : They care about being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Terry McAuliffe told Vox .
“ It ’ s a totally different dynamic ; we have one message to come out of that convention.
” Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions , we weren ’ t sure how it would go .
Today , we ’ re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a public health crisis , racial justice protests , a recession , and a presidential election .
But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive , and advertising alone won ’ t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will help keep Vox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as little as $ 3 .

The Democratic National Convention has gone fully virtual this year.
Rather than days of full programming, the convention has been condensed into two hours of televised speeches a day spread out from Monday, August 17, to Thursday, August 20. Former Vice President Joe Biden is set to accept his party’s nomination on Thursday night from his home in Delaware, rather than the original planned location of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Fears about the Covid-19 outbreak and the potential to spread the virus even with a severely reduced crowd caused the Democratic National Committee to scrap its in-person Milwaukee convention.
Starting at 9 Eastern each night, the Democratic convention has been broadcast on all major television networks, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and streaming services such as Apple TV and Roku. The convention will also be streamed live from the DNC’s website.
In its first three nights, the DNC lineup featured big Democratic names including former first lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren. Monday, the convention also featured former Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who delivered an appeal to his fellow Republicans to support Biden for president. The week will culminate with Biden accepting his nomination to be president on Thursday, one day after Sen. Kamala Harris accepted her vice presidential nomination.
The lineup has not been without controversy. Ocasio-Cortez was given just one minute of speaking time on Tuesday; she served as one of the officials symbolically nominating Sanders, who crossed the delegate threshold for nomination to the ticket.
Many progressives criticized the decision — Ocasio-Cortez is one of the highest-profile members of the Democratic Party and among its brightest young stars, and she is a compelling speaker. But Politico reported moderate Democrats worried giving her too high a profile would allow Republicans to paint Biden as a “vessel” of the left.
The New York Congress member responded by tweeting out a poem by Benjamin E. Mays, “I have only just a minute,” which the late Rep. Elijah Cummings recited in his first speech to Congress in 1996, and ultimately used her limited time to make a compact case for sweeping progressive reforms.
“I only have a minute.
Sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, I did not choose it,
But I know that I must use it.
Give account if I abuse it.
Suffer, if I lose it.
Only a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.”
- Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
(and recited by Elijah Cummings) https://t.co/ul9CE7NriV — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 12, 2020
There has also been outcry that former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, the only Latino candidate in the 2020 primary field, was not invited to deliver an address during the event. Initially, former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang was left off the list of speakers, but the entrepreneur said he has since been added — Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been given a slot as well. Both are expected to speak Thursday evening. Throughout the proceedings, some progressives have expressed dismay at the DNC’s apparent prioritization of figures like Bloomberg and Kasich over Castro and Ocasio-Cortez.
But the show goes on, with these bigger names giving speeches Monday through Thursday, alongside American business owners, teachers, factory workers, and front-line health care workers.
Here’s the lineup of speakers at this year’s Democratic National Convention (which is still subject to change).
The DNC speaker schedule and lineup
There will be a slate of speakers each night, including former presidents and sitting US senators, governors, and US representatives. The themes for each day (and links to our coverage):
Here’s the list of Thursday night’s speakers:
The fourth and final night of the 2020 convention has the theme of “America’s Promise,” and will feature former Vice President Joe Biden officially accepting the nomination for president. Full run-of-show is listed below, with descriptions from the Democratic National Convention’s media guidance.
“This Time Next Year:” A short presentation from a diverse group of Americans on how they imagine their lives one year into a Biden presidency
Remarks by Andrew Yang, American businessman
Introduction by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress
Pledge of Allegiance, led by Rep. Cedric Richmond Jr. (D-LA)
National anthem, performed by the Chicks
Invocation by Sister Simone Campbell, American Roman Catholic religious sister
Remarks by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)
Remarks by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
A tribute to John Lewis directed by Dawn Porter, director of the film John Lewis: Good Trouble
Performance by John Legend, American singer-songwriter, and Common, American rapper, actor, and writer
Remarks by Jon Meacham, American writer and author
Remarks by Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM)
Remarks by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson
Remarks by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
“You Built America”: A conversation between Biden and a panel of union workers from around the US
Remarks by former Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Vivek Murthy
Remarks by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
A presentation on Biden’s plan for supporting military families
Remarks by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
A video tribute to Biden’s late son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden
Remarks by former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
“United We Stand:” A presentation on Biden’s candidacy from his Democratic primary rivals, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and businessman Andrew Yang
Remarks by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
A short film on the Biden family, focused on Biden’s grandchildren
Remarks by Biden’s daughter and son, Ashley Biden and Hunter Biden
A brief video biography of Biden
Remarks and acceptance speech by Joe Biden
Why the DNC is virtual this year
In previous years, the national party convention would be a moment for unity and celebration. But amid a once-in-a-century pandemic that’s claimed more than 163,000 American lives and counting, Democrats are hoping their virtual convention sends a larger message about how their nominee plans to govern in a time of national crisis.
With an absence of federal leadership from President Donald Trump, the Biden campaign and national Democrats are portraying themselves as the party of responsibility.
“I’ve wanted to set an example as to how we should respond individually to this crisis,” Biden said at a recent virtual fundraiser, speaking about the virtual convention. “From the start of the process, we’ve made it clear. ... Science matters.”
Democrats have known for months that the coronavirus meant the normal throng of thousands of cheering delegates was out of the question. A recent public health order from Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett would have limited the convention’s in-person capacity to 250 people, but coronavirus cases in Wisconsin are also still on the rise, and interstate travel comes with risk.
Even with stringent safety measures like mandatory masks and daily temperature checks already in place, some Democrats feared even the sparsest indoors convention could still potentially spread Covid-19. After Trump’s June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, coronavirus cases in that city surged, and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died of Covid-19. Democrats didn’t want to risk any new cases emerging from their national convention.
“From the very beginning of this pandemic, we put the health and safety of the American people first,” DNC Chair Tom Perez said in a statement. “We followed the science, listened to doctors and public health experts, and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives. That’s the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves. And that’s the leadership Joe Biden will bring to the White House.”
Democrats wanted one message to dominate their convention: Where Trump has failed, Biden will lead America out of its current crisis.
“People care about one thing: They care about being safe,” former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe told Vox. “It’s a totally different dynamic; we have one message to come out of that convention.”
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-11--Facebook bans blackface and certain anti-Semitic conspiracy theories

Facebook will start banning posts that contain blackface or that promote anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that Jewish people are running the world .
The social media giant announced the expansion of its hate speech policies in a press call on Tuesday morning .
Under the new policy , Facebook will no longer allow visual or written posts that depict “ caricatures of black people in the form of blackface ” or “ Jewish people running the world or controlling major institutions such as media networks , the economy or the government.
” These depictions represent examples of “ implicit speech ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disparage , intimidate , or exclude people based on protected characteristics like race or religion , ” said Facebook VP of content policy Monika Bickert on the call .
Bickert also said the company has been working on revising this policy for about nine months and consulted 60 outside organizations and experts on the matter .
Facebook said it will start enforcing its ban on Jewish stereotypes immediately , and the ban on blackface will begin later this month .
While unlikely to eliminate long-standing concerns about the prevalence of hate speech on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a notable expansion of the company ’ s policies restricting it .
It is also the kind of restriction that not only covers overt racial slurs but also thinly veiled or disguised racism , which some civil rights groups have long called for Facebook to ban .
When Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt spoke with Recode in July , he cited a popular Facebook group promoting baseless conspiracy theories connecting global political conspiracies to a prominent Jewish family as the kind of anti-Semitic content that thrives on the platform .
ADL and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Change and the NAACP have long been calling for Facebook to do more to stop the spread of hate speech on its platform .
The organizations led a month-long boycott of Facebook in July , gaining the support of over 1,000 advertisers and increasing pressure on the company to expand its efforts against hate speech .
“ This is a welcome yet overdue step from Facebook .
It ’ s distressing that it took this long for the platform to crack down on these particular forms of hate , when it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been allowed to proliferate in the first place , ” said a spokesperson for the ADL in a statement to Recode .
“ It ’ s equally as disturbing that Facebook still doesn ’ t view Holocaust denial as a violation of their terms of service.
” As Facebook moves to expand its hate speech policies , the platform is still rife with misinformation and sometimes racist content .
Recent reports from NBC News and the Guardian show that Facebook groups promoting the QAnon conspiracy , a far-right conspiracy theory about an alleged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government plotting against Donald Trump , have millions of members and are growing at a rapid pace .
QAnon has been found to have anti-Semitic elements , and some of its supporters have committed real-world physical violence in an attempt to uncover the alleged secret plot .
Facebook has long espoused an ethos of trying to moderate speech as little as possible .
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said he doesn ’ t want to be an “ arbiter of truth ” on political issues .
In 2018 , Zuckerberg told Recode co-founder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deny the Holocaust on Facebook , even though , as someone who is Jewish , he finds those ideas “ deeply offensive.
” But the line can be blurry between what ’ s a political opinion and what ’ s a perpetuation of a racist conspiracy theory .
It will be up to Facebook to decide how it ’ s going to enforce the new stricter rules .
Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it would go .
Today , we ’ re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a public health crisis , racial justice protests , a recession , and a presidential election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expensive , and advertising alone won ’ t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will help keep Vox free for all .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Facebook will start banning posts that contain blackface or that promote anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that Jewish people are running the world.
The social media giant announced the expansion of its hate speech policies in a press call on Tuesday morning. Under the new policy, Facebook will no longer allow visual or written posts that depict “caricatures of black people in the form of blackface” or “Jewish people running the world or controlling major institutions such as media networks, the economy or the government.”
These depictions represent examples of “implicit speech” that “has historically been used to disparage, intimidate, or exclude people based on protected characteristics like race or religion,” said Facebook VP of content policy Monika Bickert on the call. Bickert also said the company has been working on revising this policy for about nine months and consulted 60 outside organizations and experts on the matter. Facebook said it will start enforcing its ban on Jewish stereotypes immediately, and the ban on blackface will begin later this month.
While unlikely to eliminate long-standing concerns about the prevalence of hate speech on Facebook’s platform, the move is a notable expansion of the company’s policies restricting it. It is also the kind of restriction that not only covers overt racial slurs but also thinly veiled or disguised racism, which some civil rights groups have long called for Facebook to ban. When Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt spoke with Recode in July, he cited a popular Facebook group promoting baseless conspiracy theories connecting global political conspiracies to a prominent Jewish family as the kind of anti-Semitic content that thrives on the platform.
ADL and other leading civil rights organizations like Color of Change and the NAACP have long been calling for Facebook to do more to stop the spread of hate speech on its platform. The organizations led a month-long boycott of Facebook in July, gaining the support of over 1,000 advertisers and increasing pressure on the company to expand its efforts against hate speech.
Do you work at Google and want to talk? Please email Shirin Ghaffary at shirin.ghaffary@protonmail.com to reach her confidentially. Signal number available upon request.
“This is a welcome yet overdue step from Facebook. It’s distressing that it took this long for the platform to crack down on these particular forms of hate, when it’s quite obvious they should not have been allowed to proliferate in the first place,” said a spokesperson for the ADL in a statement to Recode. “It’s equally as disturbing that Facebook still doesn’t view Holocaust denial as a violation of their terms of service.”
As Facebook moves to expand its hate speech policies, the platform is still rife with misinformation and sometimes racist content. Recent reports from NBC News and the Guardian show that Facebook groups promoting the QAnon conspiracy, a far-right conspiracy theory about an alleged “deep state” in the US government plotting against Donald Trump, have millions of members and are growing at a rapid pace. QAnon has been found to have anti-Semitic elements, and some of its supporters have committed real-world physical violence in an attempt to uncover the alleged secret plot.
Facebook has long espoused an ethos of trying to moderate speech as little as possible. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to be an “arbiter of truth” on political issues. In 2018, Zuckerberg told Recode co-founder Kara Swisher that people should be allowed to deny the Holocaust on Facebook, even though, as someone who is Jewish, he finds those ideas “deeply offensive.”
But the line can be blurry between what’s a political opinion and what’s a perpetuation of a racist conspiracy theory. It will be up to Facebook to decide how it’s going to enforce the new stricter rules.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.