Minnesota football players end Holiday Bowl boycott

Minnesota football players have ended their boycott and will play in the Holiday Bowl as scheduled after threatening to sit out.

The Holiday Bowl will go on as scheduled with Minnesota football players ending their threat of a boycott, according to the Star Tribune. The players were threatening to sit out the bowl game after 10 football players were suspended stemming from a sexual assault investigation.

After a Friday meeting with University President Eric Kaler and other school officials, it appeared like the players would follow through with their threat and boycott the bowl game. However, after hours of meetings and negotiations, the players exited and the official announcement was made Saturday at a 9 a.m. press conference.

This comes after Gov. Mark Dayton called the threat of the boycott a “bad black eye” for the school and after Antoine Winfield Sr. said his son, one of the 10 suspended, would transfer unless the president and athletic director remained in their job.

It remains to be seen what ultimately led to the players changing their minds, but the 10 players who were suspended remain suspended. And the hearing for the 10 suspended players remains scheduled for January after attempts to move it up to the coming week was unsuccessful.

The players released a statement, via the Star Tribune, you can read below.

"“As a team, we understand that what has occurred these past few days, and playing football for the University of Minnesota, is larger than just us. …“We now ask that you, the members of the media, our fans, and the general public hold all of us accountable for ensuring that our teammates are treated fairly, along with any and all victims of sexual assault. We also ask that the public dialogue related to the apparent lack of due process in a university system is openly discussed and evaluated.“As football players, we know that we represent this University and this state and that we are held to a higher standard. We want to express our deepest gratitude to our coaching staff and so many others for their support during this difficult time, and we hope that our fans and community understand why we took the actions that we did.“Our thoughts and prayers are for the well-being of the woman involved in the original incident, and for our 10 teammates to ensure that they are treated fairly. We look forward to representing the University of Minnesota and the state of Minnesota in the Holiday Bowl in a way that makes all of you proud.”"

The Holiday Bowl is scheduled for Dec. 27 with Minnesota taking on the Washington State Cougars at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.