As Alabama players continue to voice their desire to play for the coming season amid COVID-19 concerns, their head coach believes they should have that choice. Nick Saban spoke to ESPN on Monday, stating he believes his players will be safer at schools then they would be at home.

"I want to play, but I want to play for the players' sake, the value they can create for themselves," Saban told ESPN. "I know I'll be criticized no matter what I say, that I don't care about player safety. Look, players are a lot safer with us than they are running around at home. We have around a 2 percent positive ratio on our team since the Fourth of the July. It's a lot higher than that in society. We act like these guys can't get this unless they play football. They can get it anywhere, whether they're in a bar or just hanging out.”

Multiple reports have stated that the Big Ten and Pac-12 are close to calling off their respective seasons to due concerns over the pandemic. While Saban recognizes the difficulties surrounding the virus he’s urging for a more patient approach.

"It's going to be a challenge when the other students get on campus, and I get that," Saban said. "But we really don't know what that entails until it happens. It's a big reason we pushed the season back (in the SEC), to assess that, which is the prudent way to do it."

According to Saban, Alabama tests its players at the beginning of each week while also bringing in an epidemiologist to talk to his team every two weeks. In addition, Alabama tests anyone who has symptoms and has an open testing site available for staff and players to be tested “as many times as they want or any time they feel like they need to.”

"Our guys aren't going to catch (the virus) on the football field,” Saban said. “They’re going to catch it on campus. The argument then should probably be, 'We shouldn't be having school.' That's the argument. Why is it, 'We shouldn't be playing football?' Why has that become the argument?”

Saban isn’t alone in his push for the coming season. Multiple Alabama players have joined in the #WeWantToPlay movement that began Sunday night. According to ESPN’s report, running back Najee Harris even stated that he would be willing to sign a waiver agreeing not to sue the university in the event he contracted the virus. Harris was part of a Zoom call Sunday night that featured roughly 30 players from Power 5 conferences.

"We want our voices to be heard," Harris said. "Our main demand on the call was that we as players know the players we're playing against have all gone through the same testing guidelines, but we want to play.”

Offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, who spearheaded Alabama’s response to the Black Lives Matter movement, also weighed in on the matter.

"We take risks every single day, especially in this sport, and life shouldn't stop,” Leatherwood told ESPN. “If there is a chance for long-term effects if you get it and people don't feel comfortable, then don't play. Everybody is entitled to their right. But we want to play, and we're going to play.”

Earlier in the day, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne quote tweeted Crimson Tide tight end Miller Forristall, who stated “There is no safer place on campus than our football facility, especially when students come back.”

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey also voiced his opinion on the matter Monday, calling for patience.