We’re still a few weeks away from Oklahoma football returning with voluntary workouts beginning July 1, but athletic director Joe Castiglione said everything remains as scheduled.
Castiglione spoke to the media for about 45 minutes on a Zoom call Wednesday afternoon, addressing a number of different topics.
One thing that seems clear to say is OU is still not second-guessing its July 1 re-open date as it sees schools nationwide already opened or opening within the next week dealing with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“We assessed the risks and reward quotient of it all, and we determined coming back early in June created a higher rate of risk that far outweighed any of the gains that we could get coming back at that time,” Castiglione said. “We looked at what would be a fair amount of time to come back, so we identified July 1 because it's still nine weeks before the date of the first game, assuming it happens as it's scheduled.”
In the safety precautions plan OU released two weeks ago, it mentioned players being tested for COVID-19 upon their return. What was a little foggy was what about after that? How many more tests? Does it go into the season? Castiglione was able to weigh in more on those issues, even if he didn’t have all the answers.
“I cannot actually,” said Castiglione about knowing the in-season testing protocol. “I can only tell you that we will be testing everybody upon return. We're still talking with medical experts this involves. There is new information all the time.
“When we determine how often testing needs to occur going forward, we can announce that and probably will announce it prior to the time our team does return. I can just talk to you about the steps we have in place for a return to campus prior to and including July 1.”
One thing Castiglione did say wasn’t a hurdle is the financial amount for testing. That will not be a deterrent for OU in any way. As more time goes on and more science is discovered about the virus and how to treat it, it should give OU more clarity as to how it needs to proceed.
What we are starting to see is programs announce when a positive test has occurred. Castiglione said there are medical laws they’ll have to follow, but in some cases, it might just be flat out necessary to say if so-and-so has tested positive.
An example he used would be if a coach or player tests positive days leading up to a game. As much as you want to follow the law and respect privacy, letting a positive test like that be known might be the best option.
What about the fans?
As April has turned to May and now June, this is the question that keeps coming to the forefront. It was OK to not really know what seating capacity could be for OU home games two months ago. But it’s getting close to where everybody needs to know what’s what.
Castiglione said they haven’t reached that point just yet, reiterating they are working on multiple models with every sort of contingency plan you can think of being taken into account.
“We are modeling at capacities at a variety of different levels,” Castiglione said. “Even if we might speak positively or optimistically like we could welcome fans that want to be at the games to come back, obviously there would be protocols and precautions. Wearing masks and other protective elements. Whether we have many or smaller capacities, all of that is on the table.”
It's not fair to demand an answer to whether it’s 33 percent, 50 percent or whatever percent capacity June 10, but it’s also something that can’t be still on the table in mid-August as the season is just days away.
Any numbers thrown out by Castiglione are not official predictions. They are OU’s answers to the alternatives that are out there. Nothing concrete. Because, to put it bluntly, the decisions haven’t been made.
“We need time to implement whatever approach we would take,” Castiglione said. “And obviously, be able to inform those that will have the access to come to the games. And that includes everything from one end of the perspective to the other.”
And the Army game?
Not to sound like a broken record, but nothing has changed and nothing is officially official as it pertains to OU’s trip to West Point in September.
Everything still appears to be good to go, which is a positive. But still some hurdles to climb before everything is given the all clear.
“There really isn’t any change in the game itself, the date, the expectation,” Castiglione said. “Now, don’t get me wrong. We’re fully aware and mindful of anything that could change that at the moment. Whether that game happens or not, whether there’s fans allowed to be in the stands or not, you know, those are decisions that have not been made.
“There has not been any indication around any particular change related to that game or any game, for that matter.”
As of June 10, the plan remains for all games to occur as scheduled for a 12-game regular season to happen.
Words turning into actionable steps
As the whole country has had to reexamine itself during the Black Lives Matter movement, that includes OU and that includes Castiglione.
What can’t happen is the passion being exuded in the last few weeks eventually falling flat and then slowly disappear as time goes on.
It can’t just be words, he said.
“I know that a lot of this, at the moment, sounds like a bunch of words, but the words really need to start turning into more actionable steps. And they will. I’m really encouraged about that.”
One action that has been proposed often through social media is making Nov. 3 a mandatory off-day so that student-athletes could exercise their right to vote.
Castiglione said he’d be in favor of that, but he’d include something else, too.
“I would expand that to include staff. I don’t know how many of our staff vote in our elections. I would guess a large majority do. But it needs to be something everybody fulfills as a responsibility, especially if we’re going to lead by example for our student-athletes.
“So I would tell you it’s not just that type of action being discussed, but what we can do to help our student-athletes, and staff for that matter, to the issues on the ballot. This year it’s obvious, we’re electing a new president for our country. But there are a lot of other issues that are on ballots and other elections, whether they’re other offices or major issues they should be informed about so they can use their vote wisely.”
That’s the Tuesday of a football game week. Could something like that really be possible?
“I would say whether it’s a full day off or creating ample time around their schedule of classes… there are still opportunities for us to make sure that they have ample time to travel to a polling place to participate in the time it needs to get up to receive their ballot and vote and be able to get back,” Castiglione said. “Whatever that means, I’m sure we’re going to be able to find a way to create more than ample time for them to participate.”
SAE impact
It has been more than five years since the SAE racial chant went viral, and a lot of the things we’ve heard in recent weeks are the same issues brought up by former players like Eric Striker.
Nobody wants to go through that type of situation, but Castiglione said it helped the university and continues to help now through the social injustice matters being brought up.
“I want to give credit to a lot of the student-athletes that participated in creating change as a result of that time,” Castiglione said. “It wasn’t just one day. It was many days.”
Conversations were as relevant in 2015 as they are today. And now, it’s about taking the next steps toward finding that desired unity and equality.
“We need to understand our shortcomings,” Castiglione said. “We need to understand our implicit bias that we might have. The fact that we might be uncomfortable when somebody tells us we have white privilege because we really don’t understand what that means. We have to be open-minded in realizing what that actually means.
“The difference between what we face and what others may face. That’s part of the learning process and the engagement process and part of what I said earlier about getting more comfortable having the uncomfortable conversation. I truly believe, in the long run, it’s going to bring us closer together because we’re going to be more intentional about knowing each other and knowing how we can be better for each other and work together to bring about actionable steps that will lead to positive change.”
