State Won't Make Athletes Sign Coronavirus Waiver
Athletes at Ohio State were asked to sign "The Buckeye Pledge." which waives the university from any responsibility if one of its players tests positive for coronavirus.
SI's Pat Forde shares more on 'The Buckeye Pledge' and how colleges will be going about bringing athletes back to campus here.
It's inevitable that other schools will follow Ohio State's lead and make their athletes sign similar waivers, thus shielding themselves from litigation when -- not if -- some of their athletes contract COVID-19.
The question that is unanswered here is what if any consequences will there be for those who choose not to sign?
It's a problem athletes at NC State won't have to worry about.
According to athletic department spokesman Fred Demarest, members of the Wolfpack's football, men's basketball and women's basketball teams have not been asked to sign any kind of waiver in order to return to campus to resume their offseason training regimens.
In announcing the plan that opened the door for those athletes to return earlier this month, State athletic director Boo Corrigan said that the school will do everything possible to keep its athletes safe.
"First and foremost," Corrigan said in a statement, "the overall safety and health of our student-athletes will always be our first consideration."
But as illustrated by the examples of the football programs at Texas and Houston, where multiple players have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past few weeks, the virus can be spread quickly in a team setting -- precautions or not.
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