Penn State football coach James Franklin, players pushing for vaccinations among personnel
Jahan Dotson didn’t hesitate when he was asked.
“Yes,” he said at Big Ten Media Days Thursday. “Yeah, I am vaccinated. ... I’m fully vaccinated now and ready to go.”
Dotson and plenty of his Penn State teammates have received the COVID-19 vaccine, much to the delight of head coach James Franklin.
Franklin said Thursday his team had over a 70% vaccination rate, but that isn’t enough.
“I don’t think they want me to get into the exact percentage of where we’re at,” Franklin said at Big Ten Media Days. “It’s something that I’ve been tracking all year long and been very aggressive. ... For me to sit here and tell you I’m happy, I’m not going to be happy until it’s 100%. That is staff, players and everybody associated with the program.”
The Nittany Lions and their head coach face a unique dilemma with the vaccine this season. They — and the rest of college football — could put themselves at a significant disadvantage if everyone isn’t vaccinated.
While the ability to play college football is not the best reason to get the vaccination — which can prevent the spread of COVID-19 as cases once again rise — it is a reason that Franklin has been hammering home to those who haven’t been vaccinated or don’t plan to be vaccinated.
“I think vaccination rates are clearly going to be a competitive advantage or a competitive disadvantage,” Franklin said. “I’ve stated that very clearly to my team. If you have a certain position that has low vaccination rates, then all of a sudden you get somebody that pops positive and you lose four guys at one position, that’s going to be a challenge. That’s going to be an issue.”
The thought of a disadvantage isn’t an imaginary idea or an unlikely one in college sports. North Carolina State baseball was removed from the College World Series in June after the team had eight positive tests on the team. The team was four wins away from winning a college title when the outbreak hit the team.
That’s something that wasn’t lost on Penn State defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher.
“I see the effects,” Mustipher said. “We saw (with North Carolina State) in the baseball world series what can happen if people aren’t vaccinated. They were on their way to a national title and somebody got COVID. I don’t want that to happen to us. So I’ve got to let people know — I’m not a scientist or an expert — but I can tell them I got vaccinated and I feel fine. I feel great. That’s the bottom line.”
Franklin, beyond the usual reasons and the competitive, has plenty of reason to be vaccinated and to push for it too. His daughter has an autoimmune disorder that left him separated from his family for the better part of 14 months. That alone could lead one to encourage others to get the vaccine, and Franklin has used his experiences with that to explain why it’s important.
He and his family were able to meet together in Georgia on Wednesday night, along with the team’s three media day attendees — Dotson, Mustipher and Tariq Castro-Fields — because they were all vaccinated. That type of experience is something Franklin hopes push others to making the decision to get the vaccine and said it was an important one for his family, too.
“You gotta remember, not only has my family been separated, but my kids have not played with anyone,” Franklin said. “It’s just been my wife and two daughters for 14 months isolated. So P.J. Mustipher comes running through the door and my daughters hammer him. They hugged him and Castro-Fields and Jahan Dotson. It was great.”
While the head coach has taken the lead role in advocating for the vaccine, his players have been pushing right alongside him in his efforts. Dotson, who in years past said his inclination was to lead by example rather than with his voice, has taken a leadership role in helping his teammates be informed about the issue and understand why it’s important to take it seriously. Although, he is being understanding about how the decision is each player’s to make.
“We’re making sure everyone on our team, or as many people as possible, get vaccinated,” Dotson said. “... We’ve definitely been trying to get everyone vaccinated. ... You kind of have to respect other people’s decisions if they don’t want to get vaccinated, (for) any reason at all, you’ve got to be fine with that.”
While Franklin’s goal remains to get the team to a 100% vaccination rate, he knows that’s unlikely. In the meantime, he’s doing whatever he can to get that number as close as possible.
The head coach said he didn’t want his comments to be construed as political — even though he noted some would take it that way — but made sure his stance on trusting the science of the vaccine was very clear.
“You’re not just doing it for yourself,” Franklin said. “You’re doing it for your neighbor. Maybe I’m crazy, but I think science makes sense. ... For me, I’m going to talk to our team doctors. Why? Because they went to medical school and I know they love our program and I know they love and care for me and my family.”
