Dr. Fauci skeptical of a football season this year
By tsell on June 19, 2020
Here is what Dr. Fauci is saying about the 2020 NCAA and NFL football seasons
By Trent Sell
The hope of a 2020 football season looks bleak, after Dr. Fauci’s recent statement. Fauci says that without proper player isolation and regular testing, it would be hard to see how football could be played this fall.
Football in a pandemic
Dr. Fauci has been the voice of the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States. He is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House task force. He spoke on the possibility of a second wave of cases this fall. In addition, without player isolation or regular testing, he was skeptical of having a football season at all this year.
In his statement on CNN, he explained, “Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall. If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.”
Despite the news, it seems that the NFL is still planning on a season at the moment. The NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Stills, responded to Fauci’s comment. He said that Fauci’s advice is helping the NFL address the issue of mitigating health risks for players and coaches.
“We will make adjustments as necessary to meet the public health environment as we prepare to play the 2020 season as scheduled with increased protocols and safety measures for all players, personnel and attendees. We will be flexible and adaptable in this environment to adjust to the virus as needed.” – Dr. Stills
As of now, the Kansas City Cheifs are scheduled to start the 2020 season off at home against the Houston Texans, on Sept. 10. The NFL’s training camp will begin July 22, along with the Hall of Fame game taking place on August 25.
Players testing positive for Coronavirus
On Monday, it was reported that several players of the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans tested positive for the virus. Both teams had been following proper protocol and none of the players had been in the facilities.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on the issue to ESPN on Monday.
“We expect we are going to have positive tests. That is part of the increased testing that we will be going through and that is something that we just want to make sure that our protocols are working and to date. We are seeing very positive reactions in the sense that we are making sure we respond quickly, protect the personnel that may be impacted by that and others that may be in contact with them.”
Check out more talk on the issue here.
