Just A Minute: Fans Need to Take Heed of Greg Sankey's Messages

The SEC commissioner's comments on Twitter weren't just a plea for people to get vaccinated, but a warning.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tuesday afternoon, you may have noticed that SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey posted a series of messages on Twitter, which were directed at fans. 

We posted his latest plea for people to get vaccinated both on the BamaCentral site, and on our message board.   

"The availability and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines is an incredible product of science, not a political football and we all need to do our part to support a healthy society," he posted. 

The comments echoed what he said at the 2021 SEC Media Days last month. 

“We do not yet have control of the COVID environment,” Sankey said. “COVID vaccines are widely available, and they’ve proved to be highly effective. They maximize our chances of returning to a normal college football experience."

It should be noted that Sankey's comments were not posted on the SEC site, just his personal Twitter account, but considering the timing, and what's going on, should have drawn a lot more attention.  

More than 98 percent of American residents now live in an area where there is a "high" or "substantial" risk of COVID-19 community transmission, up from just 19 percent only a month ago. 

The dramatic increase has been driven in large part by the highly infectious Delta variant and low vaccination rates in many regions, especially this one. 

With this fourth wave of the coronavirus, kids and students are being directly impacted, and hospitals are nearly out of beds. Those are facts. 

At the University of Alabama, a mask mandate is already in place as students will arrive in droves this weekend, and the football program has gone back to Zoom teleconferences for interviews. 

Based on what happened last year, we know what might be coming. 

Don't listen to me, but Nick Saban, who has done public service announcements, and the SEC commissioner. 

The bottom line is this: Sankey wasn't just making a plea, but issuing a warning that needs to be taken very, very seriously.