According to college football insider Brett McMurphy, the NCAA has advised colleges that they won’t have test a student-athlete again for three months after said athlete has a confirmed positive COVID-19 test — unless they display symptoms.
Sources told @Stadium, NCAA advises schools that after a student-athlete has a confirmed positive COVID test, they won’t have to test again for next 3 months unless they show symptoms. For example, players who test positive in July, will not have to test again until October
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 24, 2020
To be blunt, this policy feels rather ghoulish. There’s plenty of existential angst around college athletics; the loss of a 2020 football season would be a financial disaster. Those concerns are real, to an extent. However, it’s tough to read directives like this and not feel queasy, especially after also reading concerns over how much it will cost to properly test college athletes.
Things are tough for (basically) everyone right now. College sports are in a dire place, at the moment. This is obvious. That said, if this advisement is a cost-cutting measure — an especially risky and dangerous maneuver — perhaps it’s also advisable to find other avenues to shed expenses.
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