Wednesday’s Big East game between the Georgetown Hoyas and Providence Friars was canceled due to the COVID-19 issues within the Georgetown program. Per Big East policy, Georgetown is forced to forfeit the game.
As a result, Providence picked up a win in the Big East standings, improving to 2-0 in conference play. Wednesday’s game was supposed to be Georgetown’s Big East opener. Instead the Hoyas are 0-1 in the conference standings.
Georgetown special assistant Clinton Crouch voiced his frustration with the conference’s COVID-19 forfeit policy.
“Forfeit rules were birthed out of a desire to motivate (or punish) programs that elected to NOT get vaccinated or, at bare minimum, make the vax “optional” for their players,” Crouch tweeted Tuesday morning. “So a FULLY vaccinated team being punished for following rules… #MakeitMakeSense”
Georgetown University requires students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated or have approved medical or religious exemptions. The university recently reported 98% of its students were vaccinated against COVID-19.
The omicron variant has proven to breakthrough vaccinated people. However, it’s believed to be more mild. The variant has been attributed to the latest surge in numbers across the nation that has impacted both college and professional sports.
The NFL postponed three games this past weekend. But those games ultimately will be played before the week is out. The league along with its union approved an amendment to its COVID policies that will stop routinely testing fully vaccinated players unless they experience symptoms.
The NHL paused its schedule ahead of the league’s Christmas break. But, both the league and its union are reportedly considering a similar testing rule as the NFL.
It’s debatable if the Big East should consider such a rule. But considering it’s early in the season with time to reschedule games, many throughout social media questioned the forfeit decision and called for the conference officials to revisit the policy.
Georgetown-Providence is the third Big East game canceled due to COVID-19 issues. Last week Seton Hall forfeited its game to St. John’s. On Monday, DePaul forfeited its game to Seton Hall.
