SEC commissioner Greg Sankey broke his silence on Monday amid a whirlwind of college football news and speculation about the upcoming season.
Sankey reiterated the SEC will continue its deliberate approach amid the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding any rush to judgment.
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“Best advice I’ve received since COVID-19, ‘Be patient, take time when making decisions, this is all new & you’ll gain better information each day,” Sankey tweeted out.
“@SEC has been deliberate at each step since March … slowed return to practice … delayed 1st game to respect start of fall semester… Developed testing protocols,” he said. “We know concerns remain. We have never had a FB season in a COVID-19 environment.
“Can we play? I don’t know. We haven’t stopped trying. We support, educate and care for student-athletes every day, and will continue to do so … every day.”
Sankey’s tweet came after a weekend of headlines forecasting a college football shutdown fueled by anonymous quotes from Big Ten and Pac-12 leaders.
Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence led a player movement of sorts, with football players from around the country uniting behind a #WeWantToPlay campaign on Sunday.
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President Donald J. Trump supported the movement on Monday, tweeting “Play College Football!”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on the Outkick The Coverage show that the ACC and SEC should play and acquire Big Ten players if the Big Ten decides not to have a season.
The USA Today reported earlier Monday the Big Ten was expected to announce it was canceling its season in the aftermath of a 12-2 vote.
Hours later, Yahoo refuted the report, quoting an unidentified Big Ten spokesman that there had not been a league vote.
NCAA president Mark Emmert said on Monday the decision on whether or not to play football this season is “actually going to have to be each institution,” per the associated press.
The media mayhem shows no signs of slowing down.
More politicians, school presidents, athletic directors, coaches, players and players’ parents will continue to weigh in on social media.
Sankey made enough of a statement on Monday to inform the public of the SEC sentiment as the league moves forward toward its first official day of practice, on Aug. 17.
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The SEC moved back the start of practice days last week after announcing its season schedule would be delayed until Sept. 26 in the interest of making the most informed decision possible.
Sankey will ultimately lean on other advice he received while managing the COVID-19 crisis last month, from former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice :
“With uncertainty you will have to make decisions, they will be hard decisions, they are going to be imperfect decisions, and you will have to be comfortable with the outcome — and then you’re going to have to move forward and adapt.”
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