Penn State’s announcement that players can return creates more questions than answers
Somebody at Penn State figured that Thursday night at 9 p.m. would be the perfect time to tell the world that 75 Nittany Lions football players would begin returning to campus on Monday.
It’s kind of big news, which makes you wonder why university officials decided to announce it at a time of the day (or night) when it would receive minimal attention.
We don’t know much about Penn State’s plan to protect its football players, other athletes and staff from COVID-19 because we weren’t told much.
In a press release, Penn State said its “sports performance team developed in-depth protocols for the student-athletes and staff.” They include mandatory daily health screening questionnaires and temperature checks for athletes, coaches and staff; use of personal protective equipment; social distancing; and monitored access to buildings. Here’s where it got interesting: “Student-athletes have begun a prescribed quarantine in preparation for their return to campus and will be tested and quarantined upon their return,” the statement read. “Those student-athletes who are medically cleared may then participate in voluntary on-campus workouts beginning June 15. Those workouts will be limited in size (groups of less than 20 student-athletes).”
Because there were few other details, the announcement raised more questions than it answered.
Who are the 75 players and how were they determined?
How frequently will athletes, coaches and staff be tested for the coronavirus after they are initially tested upon their return to campus?
Are the players living separately? Where?
How long is the “prescribed” quarantine? How do Penn State officials know who the players might have come in contact with in the last week or two? We’ve seen several players participate in George Floyd protest marches in the last week with hundreds of other people.
Will coaches and staff be allowed in the football building and other facilities during the voluntary workouts?
And the most important one, what happens if and when a player or a coach tests positive for COVID-19? Who else gets tested? How long would they be quarantined?
These are significant questions, especially considering that five Alabama football players tested positive for the coronavirus this week.
And those of us who cover Penn State football would have asked those questions, if director of athletics Sandy Barbour or someone on Penn State’s “sports performance team” were made available. They weren’t.
When I asked about Barbour’s availability, I was told: “Not expecting Sandy to speak to the media at this time.”
Her not being available and the 9 p.m. news dump almost make it seem like Penn State is trying to hide something. I’m not sure what that might be, but it’s not exactly transparency.
At the bottom of the release, Penn State said it “will use a phased return to campus” for all 31 sports. The time frame will be announced later.
There might be a lot of unknowns regarding Penn State football players returning to campus. But make no mistake about it now — university officials are planning for a 2020 season in the fall.
Season-ticket holders received a detailed survey Thursday night, asking questions related to COVID-19 and what their comfort level would be in different situations.
It will be interesting to see how Penn State determines the capacity for home games this season. Will it be 15,000? 20,000? 40,000? And what system will be used to determine who can sit inside Beaver Stadium?
Those questions remain unanswered, just like many others.