PSU director of athletic medicine: 30%-35% of Big Ten athletes with COVID-19 have myocarditis

There's new data that suggests the Big Ten won't reverse its decision to postpone football and other fall sports due to concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Parth Upadhyaya of the Centre Daily Times reports that Penn State Director of Athletic Medicine Wayne Sebastianelli said during a Monday State College Area school board of directors meeting that 30%-35% of Big Ten athletes who tested positive for COVID-19 appeared to also contract myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that can cause sudden cardiac arrest.

Earlier on Monday, The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach confirmed that a different study conducted by Ohio State Director of Sports Cardiology Dr. Curt Daniels discovered that roughly 15% of college athletes who tested positive for the virus also had myocarditis. The findings of that study were shared with university presidents and chancellors before the Big Ten and Pac-12 both announced the cancellations of fall sports calendars because of the uncontrolled virus outbreak on Aug. 11.

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren declared in a public letter shared on Aug. 19 that the league's decision to postpone fall seasons "will not be revisited." Since then, parents, students and fans have protested that ruling, and President Donald Trump reached out to Warren earlier this week to discuss the matter.

On Wednesday, Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos told the Lincoln Journal Star there was "nothing to" rumors about the Big Ten potentially starting a football season on or around Oct. 10. Instead, it remains most likely that conference football programs will remain idle through the remainder of the year.