Big Ten received virus tests from a private company instead, officials said.
When President Donald Trump forced Big Ten to reopen the college amid a coronavirus epidemic in recent weeks, the White House offered the college’s athletic conference enough COVID-19 tests to start the game, a university official said and a senior Trump spokesman said. The official said.
The Big Ten eventually took tests from a private company in its place, officials said.
His football season was announced at the conference on Wednesday – due to the outbreak will resume on 23 October. He said he would use “strict medical protocols”, including daily testing of his student-athletes and coaches.
Trump has been publicly urging the Big Ten to start his football season since last month, and he spoke with the council’s commissioner, Kevin Warren, on September 1.
“I called the commissioner a few weeks ago and we clearly started putting a lot of pressure on him, because there was no reason for him not to come back,” Trump told reporters Wednesday.
After that call, Trump instructed White House staff to provide any federal resources needed by the council, according to a senior administration official.
The official said that, perhaps for political reasons, it was easier for the Big Ten to persuade their presidents to vote for him, if it was not provided by the White House, the official said.
Trump has been vying for months to return to professional and college ledge sports, many of which have been blocked. He has forced states and schools to lift coronavirus-related restrictions, despite the steady rate of virus transmission in some parts of the country; His own presidential campaign has ignored local restrictions on crowd size, wearing masks and social distance.
Many leagues have recently relaunched with safety protocols restrictions and restrictions on spectators. They have had varying degrees of success in responding to athletes who have fallen ill with the virus.
Big Ten said on Wednesday that athletes, coaches, trainers and others entering the field will be tested daily and athletes who get a positive result will get a second test to confirm the result.
If both tests were positive, the athlete would have to undergo a cardiology test and obtain clearance before returning to the cardiologist competition – 21 days after his initial diagnosis.
Calls from players and their parents for a resumption of the season have sparked interest in Trump’s Big Ten, a senior administration official said.
The White House has made hundreds of calls to Big Ten coaches, officials, the athletic director, parents and players on the issue, the official said.
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