The Southeastern Conference issued an internal memo threatening consequences for failures to adhere to COVID-19 mitigation protocols.
According to ESPN, commissioner Greg Sankey sent the memo to athletic directors and coaches, threatening to withhold conference revenue from programs who fail to adhere to requirements set out by the SEC coronavirus task force, or to potentially suspend individuals who run afoul of those requirements.
"The imposition of any reduction in conference revenue for failure to substantially comply with or repeated disregard of the SEC masking requirement will be determined at the commissioner's discretion," the memo states. "In addition, individuals who fail to comply with or disregard the masking requirement could be subject to penalties, including but not limited to, suspension for a specified period."
ESPN reports that the memo cited both the outbreak at the White House, as well as the impact of the virus’ spread on the NFL schedule.
It was the second such memo the conference sent out on the subject of the coronavirus in consecutive weeks. Since the SEC began its football slate, the league’s coaches have been filmed on the sideline improperly wearing a face covering, or in some cases, not wearing one at all.
The memo reportedly had one line bolded and underlined for emphasis: "Do not relax — and do not let those around you relax — because of a few weeks of success."
