On Sept. 22, five days before his next game, Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel was asked by a reporter whether starting tight end J.D. McCoy had recovered sufficiently from a sprained knee ligament to play against Kansas.
"I don't answer any (injury) questions," Pinkel said. "Nice try, though."
It's not as if Pinkel is standing alone in guarding information about players' injuries. It's become a trend nationwide among college football coaches, and, depending on how federal privacy regulations ultimately are construed, may well affect other college sports, too.
For now, though, it's football coaches who are becoming increasingly reluctant to discuss players' health issues. They cite three major reasons:
It wouldn't be fair to talk about injuries if their opponents' coaches aren't.
Privacy laws, most recently the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which took effect in April, restrict the dissemination of individuals' health information.
Gamblers use injury reports.
"If it was left to me, we'd be like the NFL" and release a weekly update on injuries, Pinkel said. "I think that's the best way to do it: questionable, probable, doubtful. Just be very honest about those things.
"But when other teams in your league are not releasing them, then you're at a competitive disadvantage. And I'm not going to do anything to put my players at a disadvantage."
Baylor coach Guy Morriss scoffed at that notion. "I think it's our nature as coaches that we get a little bit paranoid some of the time," he said. "But the confidentiality part of it is becoming a big deal."
Bob Stoops, coach of top-ranked Oklahoma, said he thinks details about an individual's injury are no one's business outside the particular program. "Why is it necessary that everybody understands his situation, where opponents can pick on him or go after a certain injury?" Stoops said. "It's hurting a young man who's just a college student and is out there trying to do the very best he can. It's not to fair to them."
Like Pinkel, Illinois coach Ron Turner favors the NFL approach and would like such a rule to be enacted for college football. "I think there should be," he said. "But I think it would probably be hard to regulate."
Still, Turner said he feels that privacy regulations require him "to be real careful what you say, no question. I don't want to say something and some kid's parents get mad and sue me."
But if, and how, HIPAA applies to college sports is uncertain. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines, HIPAA targets hospitals and other entities that provide health care. But some administrators are interpreting HIPAA rules as extending to colleges, concluding that coaches in all sports, not just football, must keep injury information private.
At Texas, for example, coaches have been instructed to keep quiet. "They've told us we can't release anything that the young person and the family of the injured person would not say is OK," football coach Mack Brown said. "They have to sign a waiver before you can release anything. . . . The law says right now unless someone wants it released, you can't do it."
However, Missouri athletics director Mike Alden said he's unsure about the extent to which HIPAA, and other privacy laws, apply. "It's still kind of cloudy whether it's a legal issue or not," he said. "And as long as it is cloudy, you're going to err on the side of caution."
Still others, who might dispute HIPAA's relevance to college sports, point to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, which is designed to protect students' records. Some administrators believe that includes the disclosure of information about athletes' injuries and requires that the student sign a waiver permitting such information to be made public.
The gambling issue is a mounting concern among college officials, Alden noted. "Injury info is pretty important, from what I hear," he said.
Stoops said injury details provide bettors with vital information, and he blamed the media. "They're the ones that really put us in a difficult position," he said, "because they all want to out-scoop each other and want to be able to talk about, 'Johnny has a bad ankle. His ankle's so bad, he's limping around on Thursday.'
"Well, who's that helping, outside of the gambler?"
@
"I don't answer any (injury) questions," Pinkel said. "Nice try, though."
It's not as if Pinkel is standing alone in guarding information about players' injuries. It's become a trend nationwide among college football coaches, and, depending on how federal privacy regulations ultimately are construed, may well affect other college sports, too.
For now, though, it's football coaches who are becoming increasingly reluctant to discuss players' health issues. They cite three major reasons:
It wouldn't be fair to talk about injuries if their opponents' coaches aren't.
Privacy laws, most recently the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which took effect in April, restrict the dissemination of individuals' health information.
Gamblers use injury reports.
"If it was left to me, we'd be like the NFL" and release a weekly update on injuries, Pinkel said. "I think that's the best way to do it: questionable, probable, doubtful. Just be very honest about those things.
"But when other teams in your league are not releasing them, then you're at a competitive disadvantage. And I'm not going to do anything to put my players at a disadvantage."
Baylor coach Guy Morriss scoffed at that notion. "I think it's our nature as coaches that we get a little bit paranoid some of the time," he said. "But the confidentiality part of it is becoming a big deal."
Bob Stoops, coach of top-ranked Oklahoma, said he thinks details about an individual's injury are no one's business outside the particular program. "Why is it necessary that everybody understands his situation, where opponents can pick on him or go after a certain injury?" Stoops said. "It's hurting a young man who's just a college student and is out there trying to do the very best he can. It's not to fair to them."
Like Pinkel, Illinois coach Ron Turner favors the NFL approach and would like such a rule to be enacted for college football. "I think there should be," he said. "But I think it would probably be hard to regulate."
Still, Turner said he feels that privacy regulations require him "to be real careful what you say, no question. I don't want to say something and some kid's parents get mad and sue me."
But if, and how, HIPAA applies to college sports is uncertain. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines, HIPAA targets hospitals and other entities that provide health care. But some administrators are interpreting HIPAA rules as extending to colleges, concluding that coaches in all sports, not just football, must keep injury information private.
At Texas, for example, coaches have been instructed to keep quiet. "They've told us we can't release anything that the young person and the family of the injured person would not say is OK," football coach Mack Brown said. "They have to sign a waiver before you can release anything. . . . The law says right now unless someone wants it released, you can't do it."
However, Missouri athletics director Mike Alden said he's unsure about the extent to which HIPAA, and other privacy laws, apply. "It's still kind of cloudy whether it's a legal issue or not," he said. "And as long as it is cloudy, you're going to err on the side of caution."
Still others, who might dispute HIPAA's relevance to college sports, point to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, which is designed to protect students' records. Some administrators believe that includes the disclosure of information about athletes' injuries and requires that the student sign a waiver permitting such information to be made public.
The gambling issue is a mounting concern among college officials, Alden noted. "Injury info is pretty important, from what I hear," he said.
Stoops said injury details provide bettors with vital information, and he blamed the media. "They're the ones that really put us in a difficult position," he said, "because they all want to out-scoop each other and want to be able to talk about, 'Johnny has a bad ankle. His ankle's so bad, he's limping around on Thursday.'
"Well, who's that helping, outside of the gambler?"
@
