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Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy says he hopes coronavirus tests will be available in the next few weeks which will allow his coaches and eventually players to resume football activities on May 1.
During a teleconference with reporters on Tuesday, Gundy said that due to their young age and healthy immune systems, he thinks it would be safe for his players to return.
"In my opinion, if we have to bring our players back, test them. They're all in good shape. They're all 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22-year-olds. They're healthy. A lot of them can fight it off with their natural body, the antibodies, and the build that they have," he said, according to a Tweet by KFOR-TV's Dylan Buckingham.
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"There's some people that are asymptomatic. If that's true, then we sequester them. And people say that's crazy. No, it's not crazy because we need to continue and budget and run money through the state of Oklahoma."
ESPN reported that Gundy would treat COVID-19 like flu season, where "we quarantine them, we treat them, we make sure they're healthy, we bring 'em back."
"It would be the same thing here, but at some point, we've got to go back to work," he told the outlet. "We've got to get these guys back in here. ... From what I read, the healthy people can fight this, the antibodies make it better...There's a lot of people who can figure this out. May 1's our goal. Don't know if it will happen. Players will come in after that."
Gundy said how quickly that happens will depend on whether there will be enough tests available in the next three or four weeks, while adding that he's not 100 percent sure if it'll happen by his target date.
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy walks on the sidelines during an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Stillwater, Okla. last November. Gundy said Tuesday, April 7, 2020 he hopes to have his team return to its facilities on May 1, a proposed timetable that would defy federal social-distancing guidelines and was quickly disputed by the university and its athletic director. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Oklahoma State released a statement following his comments where the school said they would essentially base their decision on the advice of public health experts.
“We will adhere to the advice of public health experts who are making informed decisions in the best interest of the citizens of our nation and state based on sound scientific data,” the statement said, according to Buckingham.
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“We will also abide by the federal and state mandates as well as Big 12 guidelines. We will not compromise the health and well-being of our campus community. This virus is deadly and we will do our part at Oklahoma State to help blunt the spread.”
In mid-March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised against gatherings of 50 people or more for eight weeks, which would run contrary to the May 1 date.
Athletic director Mike Holder also declined to back Gundy's timeline, saying in a statement: “May 1 seems a little ambitious.”
Gundy said he isn’t trying to be insensitive to those who are sick, but he believes things need to get back to normal sooner rather than later. Oklahoma State is scheduled to begin its season on Sept. 3, hosting Oregon State.
“The curve’s going to flatten so we can get our state back to work," Gundy said. "So we just continue with our safety measures to give us the best chance to get back to work and get back to a normal daily operation as soon as possible.”
Gundy has compiled a 129-64 record since becoming head coach of Oklahoma State back in 2005. He was named Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2010.
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The U.S. has nearly 400,000 coronavirus cases and more than 12,900 deaths as of early Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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