Richmond Spiders pause activities after coronavirus testing originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Richmond Spiders have paused activities for its men's basketball program after the team's latest round of coronavirus testing. Richmond will no longer play the College of Charleston for their scheduled matchup on Wednesday, Dec. 2.
"We are pausing our men's basketball program for now in accordance with the guidelines of the CDC, Virginia Department of Health and our University medical professionals," athletic director John P. Hardt said in a release. "Although we are extremely disappointed for our student-athletes, our coaches and our fans, the health and safety of our Spider student-athletes and staff must be our top priority.
"We will continue to follow the guidelines and protocols of the appropriate medical professionals. I know our athletics program, including our men's basketball student-athletes, coaches and staff will continue to do an excellent job being proactive and following the appropriate protocols. They have all worked extremely hard to ensure the safest environment possible, so this current situation is especially frustrating."
The release does not specify who tested positive within the program. According to NCAA guidance, if any 'Tier 1' individual (a player, coach or anybody with direct contact with a player, etc.) has tested positive that the program is recommended to pause for 14 days. While a 14-day pause is not a requirement, the Atlantic 10 conference has maintained policies similar to the NCAA's COVID-19 guidance.
There is no update on the status of future games on the schedule. Multiple reports indicate that it is believed the incident may be a false positive and the team will retest and contract trace to ensure. The Spiders have home games against Furman and Northern Iowa on the schedule, as well as a road contest against 15th-ranked West Virginia within the 14-day window.
Richmond is fresh off one of the early-season upsets by knocking off then-No. 10 Kentucky in Lexington. The Spiders were ranked 19th in the AP Top 25 poll - their highest ranking since 1957 - as a result of the victory.
