The Big Ten received virus tests from a private company, officials said.
September 17, 2020 1:56 AM
• 5 min read
As president Donald Trump have pushed the Big Ten in recent weeks to restart college amid coronavirus During the pandemic, the White House offered to provide the student sports conference with enough COVID-19 tests to kick off the game, a university spokesman said on the matter, and a senior Trump administration official said.
The Big Ten ended up running the tests at a private company, officials said.
The conference announced On Wednesday, his football season is postponed because of the outbreak – will resume on October 23rd. He said he would use “strict medical protocols” including daily testing of his student athletes and coaches.
Since last month, Trump has publicly pushed for the Big Ten to start their football season, and on September 1, he spoke to conference commissioner Kevin Warren about the matter.
“I called the commissioner a couple of weeks ago and we started putting a lot of pressure on him, to be honest, because there was no reason not to return,” Trump said. told reporters on Wednesday…
Following the call, Trump instructed White House staff to provide any federal resources needed for the conference, according to a senior administration official.
The ability of the Big Ten to provide coronavirus The tests were “key”, the official said, although the conference eventually found another source for them.
“It was probably for political reasons that the Big Ten found it easy to convince their presidents to vote for this if it wasn’t going to provide this White House,” the official said.
Trump has been calling for a return to professional and college sports for months, many of which have been put on hold. He called on states and schools to lift restrictions related to coronavirus, despite continued high transmission rates in parts of the country; his own presidential campaign ignored local crowd size restrictions, masking, and social distancing.
Many leagues have recently resumed play with security protocol and spectator restrictions. They have had varying degrees of success in responding to athletes with the virus.
Big Ten officials said Wednesday that athletes, coaches, coaches and others who enter the field will be tested daily, and athletes who test positive will receive a second test to confirm the result.
If both tests are positive, the athlete will need to undergo a cardiac examination and obtain clearance from the cardiologist before being able to return to competition – no sooner than 21 days after their initial diagnosis.
Trump’s interest in the Big 10 was prompted by calls from players and their parents to restart the season, according to a senior administration official.
The official said the White House has made hundreds of calls on the topic with Big Ten coaches, officials, sports directors, parents and players.
