College Football Team Cancels Game Because of COVID Test – It Was a False Positive

By Peter Dawson

COVID-19 continues to loom large over the country and the sport of college football in some of the strangest ways.

Notre Dame’s issues with the virus are, according to head coach Brian Kelly, a result of a pregame meal and a vomiting player. Last Week, The University at Buffalo said 25 athletes, including 19 football players, have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Also last week, news outlets reported that a non-conference game between two FBS Division I schools was canceled… prematurely.

Georgia State, which was supposed to travel a few hours up I-85 from Atlanta, postponed its game with UNC-Charlotte that was scheduled for September 26.

As it turns out, Georgia State received incorrect results from the team’s COVID tests as it was preparing to leave for Charlotte that Friday, September 25. The initial, inaccurate results supposedly revealed positive COVID test results for four individuals. In addition, contact tracing indicated that 17 others, including one coach, would require quarantining.

Georgia State athletic director Charlie Cobb said all of those individuals then had their swabs re-tested. Ultimately, all the results came back negative.

In a statement Cobb said “It was at this point that the lab director informed our medical staff that a human error Friday morning caused the error in test results. The disappointing news is that we could have played on Saturday. More importantly, the positive news is we are not dealing with an outbreak at this time.”