Alabama coach Nick Saban, along with two of his star players, shrugged back on Monday at the narrative that players are more at risk of contracting the coronavirus when college football season is played this fall.
“I want to play, but I want to play for the sake of the players, the value they can create for themselves,” Saban told ESPN. “I know I will be criticized despite what I say, I do not care about player safety. Look, players are a lot safer with us than they are at home. We have had a 2% positive ratio on our team since the fourth of “It’s a lot higher than that in society. We’re acting 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.”
With the college football season 2020 potentially hanging by a thread as the Big Ten and Pac-12 are set to cancel their seasons, Saban does not understand the rush to close everything at this point.
“It will be a challenge when the other students come on campus, and I get that,” Saban said. “But we really do not know what that means until it happens. It’s a big reason we shot back the season [in the SEC], to assess that, what is the prudent way to do it. “
Alex Leatherwood, Alabama’s All-America offensive tackle, said players should have a chance to be heard before any final decisions are made.
“There is a lot of noise and bad play about playing football with the virus, but I have yet to see anything about what the players want,” Leatherwood told ESPN. “We’ve been sleeping all summer, and you do not want it all to be for nothing.
“The story that needs to be written is that we want to play.”
Saban said Alabama tests its players at the beginning of each week and that he brings in an epidemiologist to talk to his team every two weeks.
“We also test anyone who has symptoms and has an open test site where they can go and be tested as many times as they want or any time they feel like they should,” Saban said. “But our boys will not catch it [the virus] on the football field. They will catch it on campus. The argument would then probably be, ‘We should not have a school.’ That is the argument. Why is it, ‘We should not have to play football?’ Why has that become the argument? “
Saban met with his leadership council on Monday and held a team meeting later in the day.
“It’s more important than ever to involve your players, and if you are not, then you are not doing your job as a coach,” said Saban, who has brought in regular speakers to address his team.
In fact, since George Floyd was assassinated on May 25 while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Alabama players have heard of the likes of Condoleezza Rice, Stephen A. Smith, Charles Barkley and Tony Dungy, and have a chance hand to ask questions.
“Coach Saban listens to his players and wants to hear from us first,” senior Alabama running back Najee Harris told ESPN. “He told us that none of this is about him, but it’s about us. He wants to hear our concerns, and we’ve made it clear that we want to play and feel like Alabama is doing everything they can to make sure we’re safe. can play. “
Harris told ESPN he would be willing to sign an exemption and vote not to prosecute the university if he contracted the virus. He was part of a Zoom call on Sunday that included about 30 key players from all Power 5 conferences. He said the overwhelming sentiment was that they want to play, as long as all conferences follow the same test protocol and that players who want to reject them do not lose their scholarship.
“We want our voices to be heard,” Harris said. “Our main question on the call was that we as players know the players against whom we are all going through the same test guidelines, but we want to play.”
Harris, who is from Antioch, California, said he feels safer in Alabama with all its medical support staff and precautionary measures than he does at home.
Leatherwood added, “We take risks every day, especially in this sport, and life should not stop. If there is a chance for long-term effects if you get it and people do not feel comfortable, then do not play. “Everyone has a right to their rights. But we want to play, and we will play.”
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey tweeted that patience should be used in deciding whether he will play football during the coronavirus pandemic.
Best advice I have received since COVID-19: “Be patient. Take your time when making decisions. This is all new and you will get better information every day.” @SEC has been aware of every step since March … slower return to practice … delayed 1st game to respect respect for start of autumn semester
– Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) August 10, 2020
… Protocols for developed tests … We know that concerns remain. We’ve never had a FB season in a COVID-19 environment. Can we play? I do not know. We have not stopped trying. We support, educate and care for student-athletes every day, and will continue to do so … every day.
– Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) August 10, 2020
Tennessee Chancellor Donde Plowman tweeted that they met on Monday with the football team Volunteers.
“At the end of our discussion, I asked if they wanted to play football and the answer was a resounding YES,” Plowman said.
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