Florida State football: Mike Norvell addresses COVID-19 testing protocol

Following claims from receiver Warren Thompson that Florida State Seminoles football was being negligent in its coronavirus protocol, and follow-ups from players and some parents, Mike Norvell addressed the media on Thursday on Zoom.

Norvell said he had been notified of the tweets as soon as he left practice and was unable to speak to the specifics of it, but expressed disappointment that the message was posted, saying that FSU has been diligent in its safety protocols.

Here are some of the comments he made:

“It’s disappointing to see what was said. We’ve been very open and transparent throughout this process.”

“We have had a voluntary process with all of our players.”

“I spoke with Warren last night. We had a one-on-one conversation. I’m sure we will have a follow up here soon.”

“Players have the right to post what they want to post. I support all players and the platform they have.”

On Tuesday, athletic director David Coburn laid out FSU’s protocols:

“When they come in the morning, they’re temperature and symptom check, they have to answer a set of questions and then they’re banded,” Coburn said on Tuesday. “And they’re kept segregated from the rest of the athletic department staff. They’re socially distanced in their meetings. They’re required to wear masks throughout the building and on the way to and from practice. That we’re testing weekly now and we will probably go to biweekly testing during the season. Anyone who gets a positive test result, we do hard work on them. And we’ve been doing that. We’re going to continue to do that. So we’re very comfortable that we’ve done what the medical folks… actually, above and beyond what the medical folks have advised.”

Senior defensive back Jaiden Lars-Woodbey and some other players have taken to Twitter to voice their support for the Florida State athletic training staff and the protocols that are in place.