Alabama football players, unsure protocols will protect them, might choose to not play.
After the SEC formally announced a 2020 season, Alabama football fans were relieved. The respite from worrying about the season was brief.
As has happened in the NFL and other conferences, some SEC players are not willing to accept the risk of playing under the currently known guidelines. Check out why Dont’a Hightower made his decision. On Saturday, it was reported C.J. Mosley will join Hightower and two other former Tide players in skipping the NFL season. So far, there is no public information of any current Alabama football player coming to the same conclusion.
What has been reported is some SEC football players expressed concerns on Wednesday in a “private meeting with conference leaders and medical advisors.” If the reporting is correct, it includes a troubling bit of information shared with the players.
"(players were) told that positive cases on their teams were a given. “We’re going to have positive cases on every single team in the SEC. That’s a given. And we can’t prevent it.”"
The meeting was described as a confidential session. Apparently the details reported came from a recording made during the meeting.
Some Alabama football fans will conclude the player’s concerns are an over-reaction. Even if they are, every player is entitled to individual judgments regarding their health safety. Another quick conclusion is such an opinion puts the football season in jeopardy.
It was, however, in jeopardy before the ‘confidential’ exchange. Medical experts are obligated to communicate risks. They cannot be faulted for stating what they believe to be fact. Players are not obligated to heed or ignore their advice.
What players cannot do is avoid being quarantined based on positive tests or contact with someone testing positive. As we discussed a week ago, quarantines will make the most impact on the 2020 season. The NCAA plans to follow the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. Those guidelines specify quarantine periods from 10 to 14 days. Given that constraint, it is hard to see any team not having its roster reduced for a game or longer.
When would those roster reductions determine a game cannot be played? There has to be a threshold, below which a team cannot be expected to compete. Alabama football and other teams will have to rely on the SEC to make the determination. SEC players also have the option to sit out the season and maintain their scholarship.
Much has been said about the 1918 college football season. In the peak of a worldwide flu epidemic, college football was played. In an era when there were fewer teams, close to 20 teams chose to skip the season. There were not uniform schedules. Some teams played as few as five games. Stadium spectators wore masks.