EKU football player leaves team over alleged mishandling of COVID-19 protocols
A football player at Eastern Kentucky University says he has quit the team due to the coaching staff’s alleged mishandling of COVID-19 protocols and disregard for player safety.
Landon White, a sophomore walk-on kicker who played in three games last season for the Colonels, in an Instagram post Tuesday night, alleged that Colonels head coach Walt Wells and some members of his staff do not care about player safety, and that the program has continued to hold workouts despite multiple positive results for COVID-19.
EKU’s athletic department announced July 2 that there were six positive COVID-19 cases among athletes and staff. The Eastern Progress, EKU’s student newspaper, reported 10 additional cases July 18. EKU reported no new cases among 210 total tests administered as of July 28, but has not shared when tests were last conducted, the paper reported.
“Have y’all heard about us suspending anything? Of course not,” White wrote in his post. “There are meeting rooms with 100+ players and staff crammed into it with zero space and no social distancing rules in sight. There are a bunch of potential positives in there.”
White, a former All-State kicker and 2016 Class of the Commonwealth selection out of Madison Central High School, alleged that players “routinely” do not wear their masks around EKU’s campus, specifically citing examples in the player cafeteria (Case Dining Hall), saying that dining hall staff issue reminders “instead of our coaches.”
In his post, White suggested that Wells — whom he refers to throughout as “The Head Coach” and not by name — doesn’t care about the safety of EKU’s players and their families, and is focused on the guarantee money the Colonels are set to make by playing a non-conference game at West Virginia.
The Big 12 Conference, of which WVU is a member, on Monday announced that its teams will play a 10-game schedule consisting of nine conference opponents and only one non-conference foe. WVU’s only other previous non-conference opponents — Florida State and Maryland — are already off its schedule (Florida State due to stipulations about the Atlantic Coast Conference’s proposed single non-conference opponent and Maryland because the Big Ten is playing a conference-only schedule).
Multiple attempts by the Herald-Leader to contact White directly were unsuccessful. In his post, he cited preserving the health of several family members — two pregnant sisters, three nieces, a nephew, his mom and dad as well as a grandmother and grandfather — as a motivating factor for his decision to leave the team.
Wells, a former quality control assistant at the University of Kentucky under Mark Stoops, was hired by EKU in December.
“Eastern Kentucky University Athletics is aware of online statements recently made by a former student-athlete,” EKU Athletic Director Matt Roan said in a statement released by the school Wednesday afternoon. “First and foremost, the health, safety and overall well-being of our student-athletes will always be a primary priority. Head Football Coach Walt Wells and I have met continuously to ensure that football operations continue to adhere to local, state and health organization guidelines. We completely agree that egregiously or willfully ignoring safety guidelines, or our established protocol by any of our athletic programs, staff or students is a serious issue and will not be tolerated.
“Our programs returned to campus on July 6. In preparation for summer participation, every student-athlete and sport-specific coach and staff member was tested for COVID-19. Furthermore, any student-athlete reporting to campus for activity for the first time in August has been, and will continue to be, required to receive a negative test result prior to their return. To coincide with the recent commencement of preseason practice, weekly testing will be performed consistent with resocialization requirements. When a student-athlete, coach or staff member reports symptoms to EKU Sports Medicine, that individual has been immediately monitored, tested and quarantined, if necessary.”
White’s bio was still present on EKU’s online roster early Wednesday morning but was gone before noon.
The Richmond Register reported that a second EKU football player, Graham Ashkettle, left the team Wednesday. Ashkettle, a junior from South Oldham High School, was an All-Ohio Valley Conference Second Team selection in 2019.
EKU could not confirm that Ashkettle is no longer a team member.
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Multiple unnamed football players and staff at Colorado State have claimed that coaches at that school have told them not to report COVID-19 symptoms, that CSU is altering contact tracing reports and threatening players with reduced playing time if they choose to quarantine. Players at Idaho reportedly held an internal poll showing that 73 percent of them did not want to play in 2020.
Rutgers has had at least 28 players, as well as multiple staff members, diagnosed with COVID-19, and halted its workouts until at least Aug. 8. Multiple players reportedly showed symptoms.
Several college football players have announced their decisions to opt out of the 2020 season, including Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons and Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley, both of whom are projected as first-round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft.
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 11:34 AM with the headline "EKU football player leaves team over alleged mishandling of COVID-19 protocols."
