The delicate balance of player safety and moving forward with football may have hit a tipping point at Florida State, where three wide receivers, including star Tamorrion Terry, have spoken publicly about a lack of transparency in coronavirus testing on the school.
On Wednesday night, DJ Matthews tweeted that he has tested positive for COVID-19, but the tweet was quickly deleted. He followed up Thursday morning with a second tweet suggesting lies within the program.
Terry retweeted Matthews and offered his own vague concerns, writing, “I can not believe this.”
Warren Thompson offered some clarity in a open letter to Florida State, and said he had lied on several occasions about tests and health protocols.
“Our leadership is based on an ‘I’ mentality, with them only worried about their own future instead of about their own athletes,” Thompson wrote. “I’m ridiculous about talking about this issue, and it needs to be addressed for myself to continue the season with safety.”
ESPN has reached out to Florida State for comment. The players’ tweets came while the rest of the team practiced Thursday morning.
Florida State has refused to release test numbers since players returned to campus in June. While many larger schools, including Clemson, Michigan and Oklahoma, have provided total test numbers, FSU has not announced any data.
Thompson’s words were echoed by Terry’s mother, Cindy Rewis, who tweeted, “We need answers and we want the truth.”
Rewis specifically called on Florida State’s first coach Mike Norvell to address issues raised by parents and players. She said weekly tests did not take place and that players who tested positive were told to remain silent.
This is the second public backlog against Norvell before he even coached a game for the school. In June, star-defensive approach Marvin Wilson threatened a boycott of a player and publicly stated that Norvell misrepresented meetings between coaches and players after George Floyd was killed while in police custody.
Norvell met with the team the next day to clear the air and said the situation was largely a misunderstanding, and thanked Wilson for bringing the matter.
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