Ohio State University is reportedly requiring players and their parents to sign coronavirus risk waivers before returning to the school’s training facilities.
Calling the waiver the “Buckeye Pledge,” the school reminds players to “help stop the spread of the COVID-19,” but to understand “I may be exposed to COVID-19 and other infections” by returning to school, ESPN reported.
The two-page document alerts players that they agree to repeated monitoring and testing for the virus and possible quarantine measures. The waiver also demands that players follow the guidelines for social distancing issued by the Centers for Disease Control.
The waiver adds, “any failure to comply with my Buckeye Pledge above may lead to immediate removal of athletic participation privileges (not my athletics scholarship) and/or the inability to use athletics facilities.”
University officials have also reported that every player has signed the waiver and that there were no holdouts.
The school, though, insists that the waiver is less a legal measure than it is a reminder for students.
“That’s why we call it a pledge,” he said. “We don’t look at that as a legal document. It’s a Buckeye pledge. 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.'”
Waivers are historically less than binding. Waivers are routinely ignored in court during liability cases.
OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith told ESPN that the students just want to get back to their sport.
“They all want to play,” Smith told the sports network. “They all want an opportunity to have a season. Look, you’re the ones at the end of the day that if you don’t follow these protocols, you’re going to make it very difficult for us to help you have that season.”
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