Colorado State Is Investigating Allegations Of Coronavirus Protocols Not Being Followed
Rams president is looking into if there were protocol violations.
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Was COVID-19 protocol not being adhered to?
The Coloradoan had a bombshell report that the Colorado State football program was not following protocols regarding COVID-19. There were a combined 10 staff and athletes who came forward to talk the newspaper about these violations of how COVID-19 was being handled.
Some of the allegations include having coaches advise players to not alert trainers if a player has COVID-19 symptoms and continue to practice because the loss of players would be a lot for the team to handle. Also, there was the threat of lack of playing time and altering contact tracing reports.
“I believe there is a cover-up going on at CSU,” said a current football player who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. “But they could only cover it up so long and now that we have so many cases across athletics, they can’t cover it up anymore. It’s not about the health and safety of the players but about just trying to make money off the players.”
An unnamed athletic staff member said there were “red flags” and that the administration was looking out more for the coaches than players. There also was a football player who said they practice and was in contact with another who was coughing and showing signs but the one who looked sick didn’t want to because they would not be able to practice.
“I told him he needed to get tested but he really didn’t want to because then he would be out. The next day he is not at practice. (If he tested positive) he already had spread the virus. That’s why a lot of players don’t feel safe at football practice.”
This is not just isolated to the football team as the volleyball was involved. This alleged incident involved four players have lunch and in close quarters for about an hour, and said they did not wear masks at all during that time. One tested positive for COVID-19 and the other three were not quarantined, which the source said the players felt was odd.
The biggest surprise came from the report that was not able to be read and appeared to be a different story, below is via the Coloradoan.
The source said Terry DeZeeuw, associate athletic director for Sports Performance and head athletic trainer, was asked if the volleyball report was available to read. He said no. When asked if the report stated the players admitted to not wearing masks, Dezeeuw said the players told the interviewer that they were wearing masks.
This is a big deal on two fronts. If it changed what the athletes said that they were not wearing masks how can there be trust in coming forward about anything, big or small?
Second, being close to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 for that length of time should be tested and quarantined and that goes for wearing or not wearing a mask because just because you have a mask does not mean you can’t get infected.
Some Players Saying This Is False
As soon as this story came out, there were quite a few Colorado State football players who said this was not the case at all. There are probably a few more who did not express via Twitter.
McBride also was quoted in a piece written by the Rams athletic department heaping praises on how the Colorado State football team is handling COVID-19 during and outside of practices.
“Absolutely. Coach Steve Addazio has done a tremendous job of making sure we’re doing just that,” McBride said. “Even at practice, he’s making sure we’re only as close as we need to be when we need to be. He’s really done a great job of stressing social distancing and wearing masks. He’s told us we don’t need to go out and do all those other things, there will be time for that. Ultimately, it’s our goal to play this year, and if we don’t do those things, then it’s not going to happen.”
Both saying that there were violations and also being supportive and following protocols can be true. Colorado State had voluntary workouts and to help limit exposure to a lot of people, the school, like others, were practicing in groups and not as a full team.
So, it could make sense that some groups were following protocol 100 percent and others were being told something else like how missing practices wold hurt playing time.
With players not all being together for workouts or meetings, they may not have crossed paths with those other assigned workout groups. So, one group was told one thing and another group something else. That is a perfectly reasonable rationale for those saying everything was good and others saying protocol was not followed.
Trust Issues Early On At CSU
Colorado State did have some trust issues throughout the athletics department. In that same piece written by the Colorado State athletics department, star wide receiver Warren Jackson had questions but then did see change.
“I felt it’s inevitable (to have an outbreak). Just the way we’re living, we’re college student-athletes,” Jackson said. “We don’t have all the resources, especially at this time. We can’t truly quarantine. We have to go to the store, or get something for the car. I would say it’s inevitable. At first, I wasn’t sure they had our best interests in mind, but my opinion has changed. They jumped on it pretty quick. They’ve taken the right precautions, that if a whole house is sick, one guy can’t show up. I think they’ve taken a lot of precautions to provide that safety for us.”
So, perhaps at some point, there wasn’t a clear protocol for everything as this is a once in a lifetime pandemic. From these players standpoint, things are improving.
The Rams football team had a clean bill of health during early workouts but after a the July 4th holiday there was an outbreak and practices were paused. So, it does not seem that players were forced to practice or keep symptoms quiet, plus you can not keep positive tests quiet. If there is an outbreak practices should be stopped.
In soccer, Bailyn Furrow said there was a fear of losing your spot if you got sick. The below quote does not put anything on the coaches but from a player’s perspective missing two weeks of practice puts them behind. It can be a tough choice to make when athletes are usually told to ‘walk it off’ or ‘play through the pain.’ Yet, COVID-19 is nothing like working through a hamstring or ankle injury.
“If somebody feels like if they’re the slightest bit sick, everyone is afraid to say anything,” she said. “They don’t want to get taken out of practice, which needs to change, and it comes down to a personal level.
I’ve heard that from my teammates, like I have a slightly sore throat, but I don’t want tell (athletic trainer) Sarah Weatherford because I’ll get taken out of training and I don’t want to fall behind. I want to fight for my position to start, but if I’m gone for two weeks … I think there’s a hard balance of when to talk and when to not. Before COVID-19, you would tell your trainer everything, and I feel athletes are afraid to tell their trainer anything.”
Athletes want to play, train, and be part of the tam and it can be understandable that they may not want to tell the trainer they have symptoms because this could be the year they feel they can break out into a starting role or it is their last year to make an impact. There needs to be an adult in the room to make sure these athletes talk to trainers if they have any symptoms and get tested.
More Outlets Have Sources
Some on Twitter are saying that maybe the Coloradoan has something against the Rams program and that seems far-fetched, especially when they say there are 10 sources. Also, what is the end goal of doing that because if it is made up they will never work in journalism again.
In saying that, ESPN has sources of their own and different information regarding coach Addazio and the Rams handling of the situation, which included not following Centers for Disease Control guidelines.
There were eight players who tested positive about a week ago and there was not going to be a two-week quarantine according to two players at the meeting.
“I can confirm he said that ‘although the CDC recommends 14 days, we’re going to try to come back early,'” a source who attended the meeting told ESPN.
Another person who attended the meeting told ESPN, “He was making it sound like, depending on the test results, he wants to get back before 14 days. It’s like … is that even possible?”
When there is a breakout it is guided to quarantining for the two weeks as compared to just a few people getting sick and others nearby test negative.
The Rams openly admit there was no mandatory quarantine as the associate athletic director of communications Kyle Neaves said as much to ESPN.
“I can tell you that there was never any official 14-day quarantine,” Neaves said. “When we voluntarily paused — where most others are being shut down by their local health departments — that was instituted in order to give us the opportunity to test the entire team again, which we did on Monday and ran 150 tests.”
With an outbreak one would think a two-week quarantine would be something to adhere to.
A common theme in both the ESPN and Coloradoan piece is that players felt there could be retributions against them. ESPN also says there are text messages and emails to back up these claims.
There also is the appearance of a double-standard when at a party there was a female athlete that tested positive and while she was told to quarantine while the football players were not.
“We can’t do anything,” one player said. “We don’t have a union.”
That quote says it all and why now the Big Ten and Pac-12 are united to help give them a voice for their unpaid work that nets others millions upon millions.
Addazio Has His Own Past Issues
Addazio has a checkered past when it comes to player relations. When Boston College let go of Addazio, there were many former Boston College football players were beyond excited when he was let go.
One of the most notorious stories about Addazio and former player Josh Keyes was essentially banned from going to games, and tried to get him cut from the Atlanta Falcons.
Then there is this quote from the ESPN piece were a current Colorado State staffer who works close to Addazio is not impressed by him.
“He’s not a welcoming guy,” said a source who works closely with Addazio. “If a player voiced a concern, he wouldn’t be listened to, he wouldn’t be considered. The poor players are in a powerless position. Nobody is putting the interest of the players first. This is completely reckless.”
So, there is a track record of Addazio not being in the best interest of the players he coaches.
This all leads to Colorado State president Joyce McConnell starting an investigation into the allegations brought forward regarding COVID-19 protocols.
I tell you all now that nothing is more important to me or to CSU than the health and well-being of our students. Nothing. They are our purpose and our responsibility, each and every one of them, whatever sport they play or major they declare.
Effective immediately, I have launched an investigation into the concerns raised in the article. This investigation will come out of my office. It will move quickly, and I will transparently share the outcome with all of you.
In addition to the letter, McConnell told ESPN:
“I assure you, if anyone has [violated our standards], we will investigate and we will find out.”
Athletics director Joe Parker is in agreement with this investigation to get to the bottom if there was any wrongdoing by anyone within the athletic programs regarding COVID-19 protocol.
Next will be the investigation to get to the bottom of what happened or didn’t happen within the athletic programs.
