SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey broke his silence on Monday amid a whirlwind of college football news and speculation over the upcoming season.
Sankey reiterated that the SEC will continue its deliberate approach in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he will prevent any rush to judgment.
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“Best advice I have received since COVID-19, ‘Be patient, take your time when making decisions, he is all new and you will get better information every day,’ tweeted Sankey.
“@SEC has been aware of every step since March … delayed return to practice … delayed 1st game to respect respect for start of fall semester … developed test protocols,” he said. ‘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. ”
Sankey’s tweet came after a weekend of headlines predicting a shutdown of football colleges, prompted by anonymous quotes from Big Ten and Pac-12 leaders.
Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence led a player movement of sorts, with footballers from across the country uniting behind a #WeWantToPlay campaign on Sunday.
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President Donald J. Trump backed the movement on Monday, tweeting “Play College Football!”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the Outkick The Coverage show that the ACC and SEC should play and buy Big Ten players if the Big Ten decides not to have a season.
USA Today reported earlier Monday that the Big Ten was expected to cancel their season in the wake of a 12-2 vote.
Hours later, Yahoo denied the report, citing an unidentified Big Ten spokesman that there had been no league vote.
NCAA President Mark Emmert said on Monday the decision on whether or not to play football this season “In fact, every institution will have to be,” per the accompanying press.
The media chaos shows no signs of slowing down.
More politicians, school presidents, athletic directors, coaches, players and parents of the players will venture onto social media.
Sankey on Monday made enough of a statement to inform the public about the SEC sentiment as the league moves forward to its first official practice day, on August 17th.
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The SEC moved the start of practice days back last week after announcing that its season schedule would be delayed until Sept. 26. In the interest of making the most informed decision possible.
Sankey will eventually rely on other advice he received while managing the COVID-19 crisis last month, from former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:
“With uncertainty, you will have to make decisions, they will be hard decisions, they will be imperfect decisions, and you will have to be comfortable with the outcome – and then you will have to move forward and adapt.”
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 match to respect the start of the autumn semester …
– Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) August 10, 2020
… Test protocols developed… 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
