Florida Gators COVID-19 Outbreak Illustrates Vulnerability Within Protocols

In an incredibly difficult situation to maneuver, some of the current college football and Florida Gators COVID-19 protocols have faults.

Yesterday, the Florida Gators were forced to pause all team activities due to an outbreak of the coronavirus with 21 players (18 scholarship athletes and three walk-ons) testing positive for COVID-19.

In a press conference, athletic director Scott Stricklin addressed the media, indicating that the team would not be playing LSU as planned on Saturday, instead, postponing the game to Dec. 12.

The question is, however, how do so many athletes get positive test results at the same time, and why wasn't anything done to stop it? The current protocols the University of Florida, the SEC and the NCAA theoretically should help prevent wide-spread outbreaks from occurring due to the safety measures set in place, including masks and ample social distancing.

However, it appears there could be at least one fatal flaw: the university, athletes, staff and coaches will need to trust players to report any illnesses that occur. According to Stricklin, that was something some players opted not to do and instead thought the symptoms were non-COVID-related.

"One of them was congested, one of them had a headache and they did not report those symptoms as we have an expectation they do so because they didn’t think it was anything other than seasonal type cold that we experience through allergies or whatever," Stricklin said on Wednesday. "There’s a suspicion that maybe that is what helped make this an event that had this kind of spread."

Without players holding themselves accountable, the protocols set in place will simply remain flawed. As long as athletes are allowed to enter a facility without informing the team doctors, coaches or any personnel staff of their potential illnesses regardless of if the students believe it is merely allergies, there could potentially be an outbreak.

The Gators saw both instances of what could be the result of players reporting symptoms as well as the case of players not reporting symptoms. The difference in action is obvious. Stricklin says once the athletic trainer, Paul Silvestri, was informed of players reporting symptoms the team called off a Monday morning meeting while awaiting test results.

The antithesis of that, however, occurred prior to the team's game against Texas A&M on Saturday, Oct. 10. 

"We had a couple of players told us after the trip they had..somebody had a runny nose and somebody had a headache," said Stricklin when asked if players were unwell during the travel. "Those players subsequently tested positive, they said Friday I had a runny nose and Friday I had a headache, then ‘why didn’t you report that.’ ‘Well I thought it was allergies.’ That was the timeline there.”

The issue is due to the athletes not reporting their own symptoms, the spread, or potential spread, of the virus couldn't neccesarily be stopped. Now, players are being tested everyday until further notice, but the damage is done and Florida football as we know it is on an indefinite hold.