Ohio State football players signed a waiver accepting the risk of possible exposure to the coronavirus before resuming workouts in Columbus.
The two-page pledge includes a vow to follow health and safety protocols and agree to quarantine should they become ill or test positive for COVID-19. Players “openly acknowledge” the risk of contracting the coronavirus in the waiver.
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said all players signed the waiver before workouts began on campus June 8. While Smith told ESPN the waiver was about accountability, there is a clear level of liability considered in the document, which states violations can include: “immediate removal of athletic participation privileges (not my athletics scholarship) and/or the inability to use athletics facilities.”
Ohio State is planning in-person classes on campus in August.
Fall training camp for NCAA football teams is expected to begin Aug. 7, with final recommendations expected Wednesday.
“We don’t look at that as a legal document. It’s a Buckeye pledge,” Smith told ESPN. “Allow us to help you so that if we face a situation, our trainers, our strength coaches, our coaches or any athletic administrator sees a student-athlete not wearing a mask or not social distancing, we can say, ‘Hey, you made a commitment. You signed a pledge. Your parents signed a pledge. Your parents are a part of this.'”
UFC fighters signed a waiver of liability before fights in May and June and NFL contracts signed during the free agent period that began in March were voidable upon completion of physical examinations revealing a positive test for the coronavirus.
The guidelines Buckeyes football players agree to by signing the pledge, which can be modified as “more information is gathered and known” include:
–Testing for COVID-19 and potential subsequent self-quarantining if identified as a contact of anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19
–If testing positive for COVID-19, self-quarantining in a designated location for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, until symptoms have resolved and testing negative for COVID-19
–Timely reporting of any known or potential exposures to COVID-19 to the athletic training staff
–Monitoring for the following symptoms: A fever of 100.4 degrees or higher, respiratory symptoms such as dry cough or shortness of breath, sore throat, headache, body aches, chills and loss of taste or smell
–Contacting an athletic trainer and following the medical staff’s instructions — which may include being tested for COVID-19 and self-quarantining while the test results are pending — if developing symptoms
–Staying at home if feeling sick
–Getting a flu vaccination
–Participating fully and honestly in contact tracing with the athletic training staff to determine potential exposures to COVID-19
–Wearing a mask or the appropriate PPE in all public spaces
–Practicing physical distancing as much as possible
–Frequently washing and/or sanitizing hands
–Keeping personal space, shared common space and belongings clean
