Ohio State’s coronavirus waivers might not actually hold any power.
According to Heather Dinich, the waivers signed by players aren’t a legal document of any kind, and are more of a “pledge” about staying safe. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
—@CFBHeather tells us the document Ohio State players are having to sign is not a legal document, but a “pledge” designed to raise awareness to the dangers of contracting COVID-19 when leaving the confines of the athletic facilities.
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) June 15, 2020
Well, that’s an interesting update. I guess they’re only having players sign them at Ohio State so they can say they taught the athletes the dangers of coronavirus.
If they have no legal staying power of any kind, then there’s really not much to them other than the education part.
Buckeye quarterback Justin Fields has arrived. pic.twitter.com/90tFCdXXLm
— Patrick Murphy (@_Pat_Murphy) June 8, 2020
We now know SMU is also having players sign coronavirus waivers, but those ones are believed to actually end liability against the school.
NEWS: SMU athletics is requiring all student-athletes to sign a COVID-19 waiver before returning for voluntary workouts.
It requires student-athletes to release SMU from future liability.
The Dallas Morning News obtained a copy of the contract.
Story: https://t.co/2XksfCP5eB pic.twitter.com/s6YxSXNkLy
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) June 15, 2020
At the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is keeping athletes safe and making sure they understand the stakes of the situation we’re in.
While I’m all for football happening in the fall, we do need to understand that nothing is going to be risk-free going forward.
Players have to understand that above all else.
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We’ll have to see how many more programs follow this move, but I think it’ll be a large chunk of them.