The National Football League has been the only North American sports league that has not lost games due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, but that may be changing with recent developments in the pandemic in the United States.
The most recent development in football's efforts to return to play was the COVID-19 bump that has come in major Texan cities affecting two NFL teams: The Houston Texans and the Dallas Cowboys, which was reported by TSN.ca and NFL.com. Multiple players from both organizations have tested positive for the virus, but none of the infected players are believed to have been in team facilities. Among those players infected was star Dallas Cowboys Running Back, Ezekiel Elliott. The NFL claims to have procedures in place, but there has been no official procedure put in place by the league. The positive tests were-and are-predicted by the NFL's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Allen Sills. With this recent development, it does not look good for the NFL. If they are not able to ensure the safety of their players, then there is no reason for them to start their 2020 season on time, or at all.
Another interesting development was Baltimore Ravens' Head Coach, John Harbaugh comments that the NFL's social distancing measures that are in place for team facilities were "humanly impossible". Harbaugh did tell 105.7 the FAN in Baltimore that the club was still going to do everything that they could. He went on to say that it is difficult to practice and communicate with the masks. Masks make both difficult as they muffle words and can make it hard to breathe. As someone who suffers from breathing issues myself (Drew), I know that if someone is breathing heavily, the last thing they would want on their face is a mask. The CFL has been finding ways for players to work out at stadiums, but those are with a maximum of two players working out, and that is a long way from being able to play football right now. Harbaugh also pointed out that huddles are going to be extremely difficult with social distancing measures. TSN.ca had this excerpt from Harbaugh's interview:
"Are guys going to shower one at a time all day? Are guys going to lift weights one at a time all day? These are things the league and the [players' association] needs to get a handle on and needs to get agreed with some common sense so we can operate in a 13-hour day in training camp that they're giving us and get our work done. That's the one thing, you can tell by my voice, I'm a little frustrated with what I'm hearing there. And I think they need to get that pinned down a little better."
The thing though that can make most sports fans of any kind jealous (including myself) is the fact that this past weekend, New Zealand was able to have live sports with fans in the stands. And these stands were filled without social distancing measures. So why has New Zealand been able to resume sports in this fashion and not any other sports? It's simple, the people of New Zealand listed to their government about the virus. The people behaved predictably, but not everyone does that. Most people in North America are very independent in their behaviour and do not like to be told what to do. Now, why is this important? This is simple too, human behaviour is the biggest aspect in predicting the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic. With people behaving in a pattern that doesn't slow the spread of the virus, then we may never get sports back. It leads to a wide range of predictions and divisions in our society, even further than they are now.
If sports, and football, in particular, are going to return, COVID-19 needs to be solved. If COVID-19 is going to be solved, we need to listen to the experts and follow their guidance.
La Cheeserie, Littles
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