As the NFL monitors the struggles that non-bubble sports are facing as the virus continues to spread, one specific outbreak underscores the wisdom of the agreement by the NFL and the NFL Players Association to restrict activities away from work. The recent decision to shut down the Rutgers football program reportedly resulted from players attending an on-campus party.
According to NJ.com, via ESPN.com, several athletes attended an on-campus party preceding the rash of 15 positive COVID-19 tests among the football team.
Of course, news of young, healthy men testing positive for a virus that in most cases will result in the development of no symptoms will prompt many to cry out, “What’s the big deal?” The big deal, as explained by New Jersey health commissioner Judith Persichilli, is this: “Every single one of those cases has the potential to infect other people. Their grandparents, parents, siblings, friends, loved ones, and if any one of them have underlying conditions . . . the result could be fatal.”
The result has been fatal, more than 150,000 times in the United States since the pandemic began. But there are still people in positions of power and influence who downplay the situation, who refuse to take or to encourage simple steps to limit the spread of the virus, and who embrace junk science and quack medical advice to justify their behavior.
As all of this relates to pro football, the Twilight Zone takes that somehow have landed in the mainstream don’t matter. NFL players and coaches continuously will be tested, and if they test positive, they’ll be kept from practicing and playing -- regardless of whether they are asymptomatic. If enough players are kept from practicing and playing, the season won’t be viable.
Some will insist that uttering those words amounts to rooting against football season from happening. Which isn’t surprising, since most of those people are the same ones who downplay the situation, who refuse to take or to encourage simple steps to limit the spread of the virus, and who embrace junk science and quack medical advice to justify their behavior.
