Photo: Joel Auerbach/Getty
The college football season hasn’t begun, but Ole Miss is already ahead of the field.
Head coach Lane Kiffin toldESPNthis week that the entire football team has been vaccinated against COVID-19 ahead of the start of the 2021 season. That goes for players, coaches, staff members and anyone who will be on the field as part of their program, Kiffin said.
“It’s pretty amazing and great motivation for our fans and the state,” he told ESPN.
Last month, SEC commissionerGreg Sankeysaid schools in the conference would not be able to reschedule games if they suffer a COVID-19 outbreak this season.
In anticipation of this, Ole Miss players urged each other to get vaccinated until they hit their 100% goal.
“Nobody wants to be in a position to forfeit games,” Kiffin said of the Mississippi-based team.
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When speaking to reporters in July, SEC commisioner Sankey said that the conference plans to play its game on schedule this season, regardless of any outbreaks among teams that could led them to forfeit.
“You hope not to have disruption, but ‘hope is not a plan’ is the great cliche,” he said, according to theWashington Post.
“That means your team needs to be healthy to compete, and if not, that game won’t be rescheduled,” he continued. “And thus, to dispose of the game, the ‘forfeit’ word comes up at this point.”
As of Tuesday, only 35 percent of Mississippi’s population is fully vaccinated,The New York Timesreported. The staterankslast in the country in vaccination rates, immediately behind Wyoming and West Virginia.
Kiffin celebrated the team’svaccinationgoal on Twitter, where he also expressed hope it would inspire others to get inoculated.
“Awesome job everyone!!!!” he wrote on Sunday. “Players, staff, and students !! #ProtectTheTeam @OleMissFB Hope this motivates the whole state.”
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source: people.com
