South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
FSU-Virginia postponed by coronavirus
Positive tests among Seminoles game to be called
Florida State called off its game against Virginia scheduled to be played Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium due to COVID19 issues among the Seminoles.
Florida State athletics director David Coburn outlined the issues that triggered the postponement Saturday morning.
“Our team underwent the mandated third-party testing yesterday and learned late last night that we had one positive test,” Coburn stated. “Contact tracing this morning determined that, with opt-outs and injuries, we had just 44 scholarship players for the game, with some position groups depleted almost entirely.
“We deeply regret that many Florida State and Virginia fans have already traveled to the game as well as Virginia’s team. We simply had no way of knowing we would not be playing until this morning. We made every effort to play, but we could not do so in a way that was safe for the players.”
It’s the second consecutive week a Seminoles game has been postponed the day of the contest due to COVID-19 test results.
FSU notably offered more details about its decision-making this week after Clemson coach Dabo Swinney blasted the school last week for calling off its game against the Tigers due to COVID19 concerns.
Clemson confirmed a player with COVID-19 symptoms practiced all week after testing negative for the virus. The team then traveled to Tallahassee with the player and received a test result indicating he was positive after arriving in Florida. Clemson argued its social distancing and other safety mechanisms were sufficient to justify playing and offered to delay the game for many hours or several days at its expense to allow for further testing.
Florida State declined, triggering multiple jabs from Swinney suggesting the game should have been called a forfeit and it was, in fact, safe to play.
FSU coach Mike Norvell said the Seminoles trusted their medical advisers, who stated playing the Tigers risked exposing the Seminoles to the virus.
The ACC stated Saturday that FSU was observing league policy during its decision to postpone the contest against Virginia.
“The rescheduling follows positive tests, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the Florida State football team,” an ACC statement released Saturday read. “The team is adhering to the outlined protocols within the ACC Medical Advisory Group report, which is available on theACC.com.”
Norvell tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this season and missed a game at Miami, but the Seminoles have since largely avoided virus issues.