FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Across the sports world, many athletes are making the decision whether or not to compete amid lingering concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Athletes choosing to opt out of competition has been seen more on the professional level, but Joe Parker is aware that may also move into college athletics.
The Colorado State University athletic director said that no student-athletes have chosen to opt out yet, but will be prepared if - or when - it does happen.
Parker affirmed that CSU would support the decision and still honor the scholarship in place in a conference call with the media on Tuesday.
"If a student were to approach us, we would support that decision without exception," Parker said. "Ultimately, if they arrive at the decision themselves or with their family advisement that they did not want to participate, we would support that. We would continue to support their scholarship."
Last week, CSU athletics was added to the state's active coronavirus outbreak list after multiple positive COVID-19 test results. The surge in cases led to the CSU football team voluntarily pausing team activities.
In a news release Monday, CSU reported that there have been 16 total positive cases among all student-athletes, 11 of them from football. The six remaining active cases are all in football.
As a follow-up, CSU conducted 150 additional tests on Monday, which Parker expects to receive results from later this week.
"At this point, most of our teams have been in voluntary workouts," Parker said. "The tests we did (Monday) we expect back within 72 hours, so we're hopeful that we'll have results by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest."
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