Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo learned Monday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after a PCR test confirmed the diagnosis.
“This morning I tested positive for COVID-19. Although I have some minor symptoms, I remain in good health,” Izzo said in a statement. “I’ve been extremely diligent for many months now, wearing my mask in public and around the office, while adhering to social distancing guidelines. I’ve been racking my brain, trying to figure out if there was a time where I let my guard down for just an instance. And while I haven’t identified any area of exposure, what I have determined is that this shows the power of the virus. You’d be hard pressed to find a coach who’s taken more precautions than I have, following all the protocols put in place by our medical team, and yet I still contracted the virus.”
Detroit Free Press
The positive test came as somewhat of a surprise to the 65-year-old future hall-of-fame head coach who’s been a big proponent of mask wearing and supporting Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer’s initiatives to slow the spread.
No other member of the Michigan State basketball team has tested positive while associate head coach Dwayne Stephens (who lost his father to the virus) will run practices until Izzo is able to return from 10-day isolation. Currently, that would put Izzo on track to return on November 17 at the earliest.
Izzo had first begun to experience symptoms this past Saturday according to an Athletic Department release and becomes the third college basketball coach in the state behind Oakland men’s basketball coach Greg Kampe and women’s basketball coach Jeff Tungate to test positive for the virus.
