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Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats calls out Coach K over COVID comments

Published: Dec 10, 2020 · 10:18 PM EST

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski made headlines for his recent comments opining that college basketball should be paused due to COVID issues. Alabama hoops coach Nate Oats made it clear Thursday that he does not agree.

Oats was asked about Coach K’s comments during a Thursday media session.

“That’s a good question,” Oats answered. “Can I ask you something? Do you think if Coach K hadn’t lost the two non-conference games at home he’d still be saying that?”

The reporter replied that Krzyzewski would not.

“I just wanted you to say it,” Oats said. “Not me.”

He continued, “I think we have a whole lot more problems if we weren’t playing games, like, I mean, everybody talks about COVID … here’s the other thing. If COVID so bad, all these coaches … look, I’m trying to do my best to keep the mask up. I’ve already had COVID so I don’t even I technically had to keep it on nobody can get it for me. I’m still within 150 days that the NCAA is recommended,” Oats said in reference to his summer positive test.

“I see all these other guys that haven’t had it with their masks down the whole game,” Oats continued. “It’s like they got a chinstrap on.

“So if they’re really worried about COVID, you’d think their mask would be up the whole game, right?”

As Oats referenced, Duke has dropped two recent games.

“People are saying the next six weeks are going to be the worst,” Krzyzewski was quoted as saying in the press. “To me, it’s already pretty bad. On the other side of it, there are these vaccines that are coming out. By the end of the month, 20 million vaccine shots will be given. By the end of January or in February, another 100 million. Should we not reassess that? See just what would be best?”

Perhaps we can get an Alabama-Duke matchup in the postseason?