Three Clemson athletes tested positive for COVID-19, school says
Two members of the Clemson football team and one member of the men’s basketball team have tested positive for COVID-19, the university announced Friday.
Those three positive tests were out of 169 conducted among football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball players, as well as staff members who work directly with student-athletes. The breakdown of testing was as follows:
- Staff: Total tested: 41; Positive: 0
- Football: Total tested: 104; Positive: 2
- Men’s Basketball: Total tested: 12; Positive: 1
- Women’s Basketball: Total tested: 12; Positive: 0
Testing began June 8 as part of Clemson’s plan for the return of sports with voluntary workouts — players had to practice social and physical distancing for a week before returning to the Clemson area, then do so for another week before reporting for pre-participation physicals with Clemson Sports Medicine, according to the school.
Specific individuals who tested positive won’t be publicly identified, the school said, but medical personnel will isolate the positive cases and their possible contacts.
Clemson is one of several programs to publicly disclose testing results as athletic departments begin welcoming back players. Oklahoma State announced several players tested positive, while Tennessee announced no players did, but a graduate assistant had.
Other schools have declined to confirm any information — Alabama chose not to speak publicly, but it was reported that five Crimson TIde players tested positive.
University of South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp made clear Monday that despite his program testing all its players for COVID-19 as they returned to campus, none of that information, even how many tested positive, will be made public. On an ESPN Radio appearance with Golic and Wingo, he pointed to one reason he’d settled on that.
“I’ve had several parents reach out to me from a confidentiality standpoint,” Muschamp said. “There’s HIPPA laws in effect that you’ve got to respect as well. I had some parents reach out to me and they personally just said they didn’t want their sons to be named or even if there was numbers of people. So that’s why we decided that.”
Currently, Clemson athletics department is in Phase I of its three-part reopening plan. Only football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball student-athletes have been allowed back for voluntary workouts. Other fall sports, including men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball, will return in mid-June, the university said.
During this first phase, the following restrictions and guidelines in place:
- Limited access to voluntary strength and conditioning and sports medicine activities.
- Workouts will consist of small groups no larger than 10 people — all six feet apart and wearing face coverings.
- Only one person will be allowed per rack during weight lifting.
- Cleaning and sanitizing will take place at the beginning and end of each day and between each use.
- The sports medicine staff will wear masks, gowns and gloves.
- Unorganized individual access to outdoor facilities may be permitted.
- Offices and locker rooms are “objective-based” only. Team lounges are closed.
- Head coaches and assistant coaches will continue to work remotely.
The Tiger football team is slated to begin the college football season on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Georgia Tech. The university as a whole has a plan in place to return to in-person classes for the fall semester.
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Three Clemson athletes tested positive for COVID-19, school says."
