Georgia reacts to social media criticism of student seating in Sanford Stadium
It’s one thing to not wear a face covering or socially distance when in private, but it’s a different story when on national television. The latter was a big problem for Bulldogs fans.
Following images of the Georgia-Auburn game on ESPN and a rash of criticism on social media about how full Sanford Stadium locked and a lack of regard for Covid-19 safety protocols, Georgia senior deputy athletic director Josh Brooks addressed the issue saying that more staffing and help with enforcement, along with funneling students to additional student areas would help alleviate some of the problems for this week’s game against Tennessee.
“The biggest takeaway from me is we had 99% compliance from all of our fans. It’s just refining that 1%,” Brooks said according to Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald. “The majority of our students were great. They had great attitudes, they were respectful, they were compliant, but it just takes a few who without having malicious intent just filtered down or get into areas where they’re not supposed to sit, especially when the cameras are down there and they’re trying to get a great camera crowd shot.”
Student seating was originally designed to consist of pods of four, marked off with a red vinyl wrap on top of the aluminum bleacher, but the images on ESPN clearly showed that students did not abide by the restrictions.
Good to see all the Georgia fans brought their masks 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/85OhVbN1TY
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) October 3, 2020
How many masks do you see?
In this crowd shot from the #Auburn vs. #Georgia @SEC football game, I see 2 fans wearing masks. TWO!!! 🦠 😷 pic.twitter.com/oO2yGmksv3— Kyle Serba (@KyleSerba) October 3, 2020
“We just need constant reinforcement,” Brooks said. “The other thing that makes it look worse is the students are standing the whole time, so when you’re standing the whole time you don’t get a true sense of the vertical gaps. It looks more congested than it actually is.”
All the Covid cops can calm the hell down. #UGA did what it was supposed to do. pic.twitter.com/Hs4tb22eoB
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) October 4, 2020
Sanford Stadium has a capacity of 92,476 and was filled at 22.2%. A different group of 3,000 students are permitted at each home game.
While the SEC’s fan health and safety guidelines say that “face coverings (over the nose and mouth) shall be required as a condition of all guest ingress, egress and movement throughout the stadium, as well as any time guests are unable to maintain the recommended physical distance from others who are not in their same household,” Georgia does not require fans to wear masks inside Sanford Stadium.
Despite the negative feedback from media, Brooks has been pleased by the responses from Bulldog fans and donors in attendance at the game.
“[The responses have] been overwhelmingly positive. The negative has been from what people may have been taken out of context on one shot on TV from one small group.”
Currently only Alabama, Missouri, LSU, Kentucky, Arkansas and Auburn require masks to be worn inside their stadiums.
People please move on with your lives. Corona is real but it should not keep us from living. UGA fans cheer on your team as you normally would…that’s part of living.
I think we’ll survive.
Life will go on.
Pretty senseless response considering the amount of deaths.
Ignorant
In all honesty the number of COVID and Flu deaths combined this year are only about half the average number of Flu deaths over the same period of time in a typical year.
Usually about a million Americans die each year from the flu.
Social distancing, masks and sanitizers play a large part in the greatly reduced number of influenza deaths though.
@huntland that isn’t even close to true.
So we’re getting our feathers ruffled about the student section, most of whom were probably crowding the bars downtown afterward anyway?
Too True, there are many other public and even private places to catch something from others. Buses, bars, toilets, school dances, malls, etc.
The opt outs are the ones I don’t get. Many of them still practice with their teams. I didn’t know the virus could distinguish between practice and games. lol
I’m not trying to get on a soapbox here and a sports website isn’t really the best place to have this conversation but this shouldn’t be hard. I realize that majority of people, especially young people, are almost completely unaffected by the virus. That said others are dying because of it. Wearing a mask is a small inconvenience and I don’t understand why people aren’t willing to do their part in protecting our most vulnerable. It’s not about politics or beliefs it’s just the right thing to do.
Completely agree. It’s a public health emergency, should never BE politicized, but You know how “Covita” is…
Agreed
Why didn’t we wear masks before COVID-19. The death rate is very close to influenza. Of course they don’t say you died of the flu when you die in a car accident while having the flu. Haven’t you noticed that they tell you how many positives occurred daily/weekly but seldom mention the death rate? People don’t panic when they see a 6% death rate. Especially when they should know the # is inflated. Unfortunately, it is about politics.
I hope after all this is said and done, that people will wear a mask when their sick with a cold or flu. I visited Japan a few years back and surprised by how many people were wearing mask. I asked our host why and he said they wear them as a common courtesy when they are sick. A common courtesy, a thing I wish people would practice a bit more than we do nowadays
I think a lot of it depends on the situation. I saw a video of a woman at a middle school football game ( I think in Ohio) who was sitting 20 feet from anyone else get tased and drug from the stands for not wearing a mask.
On the other hand police had to guard a man in Kentucky with the Virus because he kept going out in public and infecting others.
A little common sense in both situations would be nice.
People going complain as long as they listen to the media striking fear into their lives. COVID barely affects college students and they aren’t at the risk of death. Georgia followed the protocol. Stop letting COVID control your life and move on. You should be able to have the right to wear a mask or not. If you want to a chance and risk your life, be free to do it. If you want to “be safe” and wear a mask, you should be free to do it.
The mask isn’t supposed to protect the mask wearer. It helps stop the spread. It’s not about protecting yourself. It’s about protecting others.
So why do the coaches wear masks on the sidelines but the players don’t have to while not social distancing? Double standard hmm?
The coaches and players are around each other all the time. Everyone on the field is tested regularly. It isn’t about them it’s about the people in the stands who gather together and then leave to their homes and families. Large gatherings are spreading events. If everyone wears masks it slows the rate of infection. We’ve known this for months now. I’m not sure what point you are trying to argue here.
Why do fools feel the need to challenge the mask request? Just shut up and do it.
Like the comment earlier in the thread , it was mostly students who are probably around each other all time and who also go out to bars after and parties as well. Most work spaces aren’t requiring masks as well, you are more than welcome to wear one but it’s not required. From the SEC “Face coverings must be worn over the nose and mouth and are required as guests enter, exit and move around the stadium”. I don’t see anywhere wear it states you are required to wear it while sitting watching the game. Georgia football followed the protocol properly spacing out the seating the stadium. Covid police need to stop wearing. Obviously you haven’t been to a high school football game in the south as well.
I never said it was required. I simply said it’s a small thing to ask and people should care enough about others to subject themselves to a minor inconvenience. I’m well aware of people in the south not wearing masks. I live in Georgia. I’m not policing or telling anyone they have to wear one. I’m just surprised so many are unwilling. It doesn’t make sense to me.
I’m not trying to argue. If it is required, you should wear it. If it isn’t, then you shouldn’t have to. We have all likely been exposed to, no matter where you live. You could have it and not know it without symptoms, however CDC said don’t get tested or waste testing if you don’t have symptoms. Just got to be smart, if you do, go get tested.
There’s no clear evidence that face masks actually stop the spread. The studies they’ve rushed out over the past few months are highly questionable and clearly designed to prove an outcome. Case studies have been performed on small outliers and within hospital settings where people are wearing high grade surgical and N95 masks. Which are the type of masks the CDC tells people not to purchase (because they are effective and should be reserved for first responders).
I guess we’ll just have to disagree here. I realize that scientific studies can have different results. I haven’t read any that claim masks are a surefire solution or that they are completely ineffective. I have read studies from the Mayo Clinic, CDC and multiple other sources that say they work to slow the rate of infection in large groups. Also, like him or not, Fauci is the best infectious disease specialist on the planet and he also recommends them. I agree that the N95 is much more effective and cloth masks aren’t a guaranteed deterrent but they do reduce the risk of spreading the virus to others. I haven’t read anything from a scientific standpoint to contradict this. Again I’m not looking to shame anyone who doesn’t want to wear a mask. It’s just my own observations that the medical professionals around the world are almost in complete agreement and it seems like a small thing to ask.
@BlackandGold: “aren’t at risk of death?” I bet the parents of the student who just died from COVID at Appalachian State would love for that to be true.
Life can be dangerous…this just in.
I hope the students enjoyed the game. The response was inane but so was the uproar.
If you are scared…STAY HOME. That is your right; the rest of us want to live our lives. Two weeks to flatten the curve. BS.
AMEN!