Saban urges Alabamians to wear masks in public — ‘Want to make sure we play football this fall’

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May 25, 2020

In a video recently posted to social media platforms, University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban stressed the importance of social distancing, sanitation and wearing masks, suggesting the upcoming college football season is at stake.

After appearing in a skit alongside Tide mascot “Big Al” and Associate Athletics Director for Sports Medicine Jeff Allen, Saban in the video said, “All of us want to make sure we play football this fall.”

“And to make that happen, we must be sure we stay at home if we have symptoms, wash your hands often, follow all social distancing guidelines and please wear a mask anytime you’re around other people,” Saban continued.

Watch:

A special message from Coach Saban, Big AL and Jeff Allen!#InThisTogether #RollTide pic.twitter.com/wLk8Du9R0V

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) May 21, 2020

Saban in recent days also spoke with TNT’s Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley about his “hope” for the upcoming season.

“It’s kind of everyone’s goal to try to have a football season that starts when it’s supposed to start, like Labor Day Weekend, and have as normal a schedule as possible and as normal a playoff situation as possible,” Saban advised.

“But I don’t know if that’s going to be realistic or not,” he added. “I’m hopeful.”

After stressing how important the season could be for many players, Saban was asked by Johnson if he could see not having fans at games this coming season.

“Well, I’d hate to see it, to be honest with you,” Saban responded. “Because there’s a spirit around college football that is unique to most anything else that I’ve ever experienced.”

He then raised the notion of fans having to wear masks when attending games, referencing a picture from a Georgia Tech game during the Spanish Flu outbreak when fans did just that.

‘These are not decisions that are up to me, they’re just things that I’m hopeful will happen,” Saban concluded.

“There is a spirit around college football that is unique to most anything else…”#TheSteamRoom | https://t.co/QcVc4FySnT pic.twitter.com/uE8bQDBOYJ

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 22, 2020

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn

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