Sankey said while the SEC's testing plan has been effective, there was always potential for disruptionGETTY IMAGES
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said the conference will "keep our attention on doing the best possible work and adjusting when issues arise" after a number of COVID-19 issues surround the conference this week, according to Pete Thamel of YAHOO SPORTS. This week's Vanderbilt-Missouri and LSU-Florida games were both postponed due to the virus, and Alabama coach Nick Saban and AD Greg Byrne both tested positive yesterday. Sankey noted this has been the SEC's "first messy week,” as there had been no SEC games canceled in the first three weeks of the season. Sankey: "Our testing plan has been effective. In this environment, there’s always going to be the potential for disruption. We’ve seen it in other leagues, now we’re experiencing it for the first time.” He added, “You don’t have the kind of control perhaps that one would want. That’s reality in a COVID-19 environment. We all have to acknowledge that as the current normal. Nothing is linear" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/14). Sankey: "While we’re surprised by what happens, we’re not surprised. That’s part of preparation and conversation. We all have work to do to stay healthy and pull off a season in a positive way." He also noted it was a "pleasant surprise" to not have any issues before this week, so to have disruption was "something that could be anticipated" ("The Paul Finebaum Show," ESPN Radio, 10/14).
REACTION TO SABAN'S STATUS: ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi, who was in Alabama's football offices all day yesterday, said it was a "shockwave to have a coach of the stature” of Saban test positive (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 10/14). ESPN's Paul Finebaum said the reaction to Saban’s positive test was “shock." Finebaum: "When the story broke at about 5:45 ET, everything in the South, really in college football, came to a screeching halt. We’ve heard many coaches, six or seven already, get COVID, players by the bushel full. But when Nick Saban got it, it really sent a pall over the sport” (“Get Up,” ESPN, 10/15). More Finebaum: "He’s maybe the greatest coach of all time in college football, and on top of that, we’re 3-and-a-half days away from the biggest game of the year in college football." He said this is a "message to everyone out there that it can knock on your door” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 10/14). ESPN's David Pollack noted Saban testing positive is a “good reminder of everybody better take this serious again if we want to finish this season" (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 10/14).
ISSUES IN OXFORD: Alabama played at Ole Miss last Saturday night, and in Jackson, Nick Suss reports the Rebels also are "dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak." Ole Miss is scheduled to play Arkansas in Fayetteville on Saturday, and coach Lane Kiffin as of yesterday said that the game "can still be played based off the number of players Ole Miss has available." But Suss notes the team "will go through another round of testing before the game, which could impact that answer" (Jackson CLARION-LEDGER, 10/15).
SEC NOT IMMUNE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Higgins & Bachman write the SEC, after three weeks without major incident, was "rumbled by the coronavirus pandemic" yesterday. The SEC "outlasted" the ACC and Big 12 in "keeping its modified, conference-only schedule intact." Sill, it was "never immune from outbreaks." Nearly half of the 14 teams in the league "paused workouts at some point" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/15). ESPN’s David Pollack said he was not concerned about the college football season despite the postponements, saying, "We knew this was going to happen.” Pollack: “Now it's just a matter of how do you slow it down, how do you make sure everybody is doing the right thing and everybody returns safely.” ESPN’s Wendi Nix said the SEC is “lucky in this regard: they have two open dates built in” to their schedule (“College Football Live,” ESPN, 10/14).
DISRUPTIONS ARE INVEVITABLE: USA TODAY's Dan Wolken writes, "If you’re relying on college athletes who are trained to suck it up and play through anything to be honest about a headache or the sniffles when they know that could jeopardize their ability to play in a game, this is the inevitable result." College football has "decided to live with that, regardless of the disruptions it causes or what it means from a long-term or public health perspective" (USA TODAY, 10/15). SI.com's Pat Forde wrote under the header, "The SEC's Surge Of COVID-19 Cases Is a Predictable Result Of Pandemic Football" (10/14). USA TODAY's Christine Brennan writes the coronavirus is "just beginning to flex its muscles in the tough-guy sport of college football," and the pandemic is "coming out of the locker room at halftime with a 35-0 lead, and it’s going to really start pouring it on in the second half" (USA TODAY, 10/15).
