Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown is boycotting the team until further notice.
According to ESPN, several players on the Longhorns issued a list of demands they wanted met for issues on campus, and Overshown isn’t happy that they haven’t been met yet. One of the demands is to rename campus buildings named after people with a “segregationist past.” Well, Overshown hasn’t seen enough change, and now he’s not putting the pads on. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
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“Until real action is taken and changes are made I will be sitting out all team activities,” Overshown wrote in part in a Thursday post on his Twitter.
You can read the entire statement below.
Until We Are One. pic.twitter.com/OQN7xmjFRd
— DeMarvion Overshown (@dee_overshown6) July 2, 2020
This is going to be a very interesting situation to follow. Overshown can’t be forced to play football. Tom Herman can’t force him onto the field.
However, I’m also willing to bet Texas is no longer obligated to fulfill their end of the bargain. If Overshown doesn’t want to play, do the Longhorns need to honor his scholarship?
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That’s not to say Tom Herman would take it away anyways, but what happens if several players decide to sit out?
At some point, the coach has to step in and start putting players on the roster who are actually going to play.
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Obviously, Overshown can do whatever he wants if he’s a super passionate guy, but he needs to understand it might cost him his spot on the team.
We’ll see if his boycott results in any major changes. It might and it might not, but we’re now playing a bit of a dangerous game. I’m sure Overshown won’t be the last college football player to try something like this, and I can also promise you that some coaches will have zero tolerance for it.
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It’s going to be very interesting to see how this all unfolds.