# Safety (2020 film)
**Safety** is a 2020 American biographical sports drama directed by Reginald Hudlin for Walt Disney Pictures, inspired by the true story of Ray McElrathbey, a [Clemson University](https://www.edgepedia.org/clemson-university) football safety who secretly raised his 11-year-old brother Fahmarr on campus while playing on scholarship. It premiered exclusively on Disney+ on December 11, 2020.[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/safety-to-debut-on-disney-plus-on-december-11) • [2](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-3ffd33d5-3981-47a2-b4b3-db0b2ca907d2?v=var1)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | December 11, 2020, streaming exclusively on Disney+[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/safety-to-debut-on-disney-plus-on-december-11) |
| Director / writers | Reginald Hudlin; screenplay by Nick Santora[3](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/production-underway-safety) • [15](https://press.disney.co.uk/news/disneys-powerful-and-moving-drama-safety-to-debut-on-disney) |
| Producers | Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray[3](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/production-underway-safety) |
| Cast | Jay Reeves (Ray), Thaddeus J. Mixson (Fahmarr), Corinne Foxx (Kaycee), Matthew Glave (Coach Tommy Bowden), Hunter Sansone (Daniel), James Badge Dale (Coach Brad Simmons)[2](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-3ffd33d5-3981-47a2-b4b3-db0b2ca907d2?v=var1) |
| Runtime / rating | 122 minutes; rated PG for thematic content, some language, and drug addiction[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/safety) |
| Music | Original score by Marcus Miller; a track written and performed by H.E.R.[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/safety-to-debut-on-disney-plus-on-december-11) |
| Critical reception | 78% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 41 reviews; Metascore of 55 on Metacritic[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/safety) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/safety/critic-reviews/) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The film follows Ray McElrathbey ([Jay Reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-reeves)), a 19-year-old freshman on a football scholarship at Clemson University in [South Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-carolina). After his mother Tonya is sent away for rehabilitation, Ray is left to care for his 11-year-old brother Fahmarr (Thaddeus J. Mixson), hiding the arrangement in his dorm because revealing it threatens his eligibility and his place at the school.[6](https://news.disney.com/safetyfirstlook) • [7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/safety-2020) With help from his roommate Daniel (Hunter Sansone), his girlfriend Kaycee ([Corinne Foxx](https://www.edgepedia.org/corinne-foxx)), the football team, and the Clemson community, he learns to accept support while balancing classes, practice, and parenting.[6](https://news.disney.com/safetyfirstlook) The plot turns on the rules governing college football, which threaten to force Ray to choose between his scholarship and his brother.[6](https://news.disney.com/safetyfirstlook) In the real events of 2006, McElrathbey took legal guardianship of Fahmarr while a member of the Clemson program.[8](https://clemsontigers.com/news/2019/09/13/disney-to-film-at-halftime-this-weekend) • [9](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/12/11/People-and-Pop-Culture/Safety/)
## Production
Producer Mark Ciardi, whose credits include the sports films *The Rookie*, *[Miracle](https://www.edgepedia.org/miracle-2004-film)*, and *[Secretariat](https://www.edgepedia.org/secretariat-film)*, saw McElrathbey's story on ESPN in 2006 and moved to secure the film rights while the story was still in the news, before McElrathbey had even received his NCAA waiver.[10](https://d23.com/sports-drama-safety-debuts-on-disneyplus/) • [9](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/12/11/People-and-Pop-Culture/Safety/) The project spent years in development, at one point falling through at another studio, before it was announced at Disney+ ahead of the service's November 2019 launch.[9](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/12/11/People-and-Pop-Culture/Safety/)
**Filming.** Production began in September 2019 in South Carolina, with locations at the Clemson University campus and in Georgia, and wrapped in mid-November 2019.[3](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/production-underway-safety) • [11](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/press-releases/greening-production-on-disney-film-safety/) Clemson gave the production full support, including permission to shoot game scenes at [Memorial Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/memorial-stadium-clemson), known as "Death Valley," during halftime of the September 21, 2019 game against Charlotte; actors in Clemson and Florida Atlantic uniforms ran down the hill and simulated plays before a stadium crowd of fans who had been asked to stay and cheer.[9](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/12/11/People-and-Pop-Culture/Safety/) • [8](https://clemsontigers.com/news/2019/09/13/disney-to-film-at-halftime-this-weekend) McElrathbey himself was involved in the production and trained with the actors.[9](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/12/11/People-and-Pop-Culture/Safety/) The original cut ran over three hours and was trimmed to about two hours.[6](https://news.disney.com/safetyfirstlook)
**Sustainability.** The production hired an on-set Environmental Steward and became the first Walt Disney Studios film to test solar-powered cast trailers, reducing its reliance on diesel generators. Other measures included a no-idling policy, a reusable water bottle policy that avoided 22,000 single-use plastic bottles, and donations of over 700 lbs of leftover food and more than 45 pieces of office furniture to local organizations.[11](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/press-releases/greening-production-on-disney-film-safety/)
## Music
The score was composed by Grammy-winning bassist [Marcus Miller](https://www.edgepedia.org/marcus-miller), and the soundtrack includes a track written and performed by Grammy-winning artist H.E.R.[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/safety-to-debut-on-disney-plus-on-december-11)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 78% Tomatometer from 41 reviews, with the critics consensus describing it as a skillfully told fact-based story for fans of uplifting sports dramas; the audience Popcornmeter also stands at 78%.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/safety) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 55, indicating mixed or average reviews, with nine critics weighted: four positive, five mixed, and none negative.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/safety/critic-reviews/) Reviewers split over the film's adherence to genre convention. The New York Times praised Hudlin for turning formulaic material into an examination of what community means, while Slashfilm called it a crowd-pleaser that never challenges its setup.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/safety/critic-reviews/) The film received a 2021 WGA Award nomination for Original Long Form and a Golden Reel Award nomination for sound editing in a non-theatrical feature.[12](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/safety/2030424372/) It was Disney's first live-action sports movie since 2014.[9](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/12/11/People-and-Pop-Culture/Safety/)
## The real story and what the film leaves out
The film closes with footage from the real McElrathbey brothers' 2006 appearance on *The Oprah Winfrey Show*, and the real Ray appears in the movie as a football player named Raheem.[13](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/safety-movie-review-2020) • [7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/safety-2020) McElrathbey has said the hardest part of his ordeal was being alone in his decision before anyone found out, and he calls Fahmarr the real hero of the story.[6](https://news.disney.com/safetyfirstlook) Reporting around the release noted a harder aftermath the film does not dramatize: less than two years after the events it depicts, Clemson revoked McElrathbey's athletic scholarship.[14](https://www.theringer.com/2020/12/10/college-football/disney-plus-safety-ray-ray-mcelrathbey-clemson-college-football) Director Hudlin said he felt urgency to make the film during 2020's conversations about race and social justice, and producer Ciardi observed that a decade earlier such a story would likely have required a white star coach at its center to get made.[9](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/12/11/People-and-Pop-Culture/Safety/)
## References
1. [Disney's Powerful And Moving Drama "Safety" To Debut On Disney+ On December 11, Disney Plus Press](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/safety-to-debut-on-disney-plus-on-december-11)
2. [Safety | Watch on Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-3ffd33d5-3981-47a2-b4b3-db0b2ca907d2?v=var1)
3. [Production Underway in South Carolina on Disney+ Original Film "Safety", Disney Plus Press](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/production-underway-safety)
4. [Safety | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/safety)
5. [Safety critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/safety/critic-reviews/)
6. [A First Look at the Disney+ Original Movie Safety, Disney News](https://news.disney.com/safetyfirstlook)
7. [Safety (2020) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/safety-2020)
8. [Disney To Film at Halftime this Weekend, Clemson University Athletics](https://clemsontigers.com/news/2019/09/13/disney-to-film-at-halftime-this-weekend)
9. ["Safety" Debuts On Disney+ Telling Clemson Football Player's True Story, Sports Business Journal](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/12/11/People-and-Pop-Culture/Safety/)
10. [Powerful and Inspiring Sports Drama Safety Debuts December 11 on Disney+, D23](https://d23.com/sports-drama-safety-debuts-on-disneyplus/)
11. [Greening Production on Disney+ Film, "Safety", The Walt Disney Company](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/press-releases/greening-production-on-disney-film-safety/)
12. [Safety, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/safety/2030424372/)
13. [Safety movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/safety-movie-review-2020)
14. [Maybe We Don't Need a Feel-Good College Football Movie Right Now, The Ringer](https://www.theringer.com/2020/12/10/college-football/disney-plus-safety-ray-ray-mcelrathbey-clemson-college-football)
15. [Disney’s powerful and moving drama “Safety” to debut on Disney+ on the 11th December](https://press.disney.co.uk/news/disneys-powerful-and-moving-drama-safety-to-debut-on-disney)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Individual biographical and docudrama films › Sports figures*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license