Covid-19 & the Current Sports Lansdscape

Russ: Hello, and welcome, everyone. Today’s topic is COV- ID-19 and the effect it’s having in the current world of sports. If y’all don’t mind, I’d like to kick it off.

Donald: Go right ahead, homeboy.

Russ: Thanks, Don. Well, it just seems as if every time I turn to a sporting event, the first thing I see are games being cancelled. The sad thing is, it didn’t even matter what sports it was I was looking to watch; they were all being cancelled. The college football games, basketball, hockey events…

Patrick: Yeah, it’s almost madness out there. I’m to the point of not knowing what would be a good solution to this madness.

Russ: I have a couple of suggestions. The first is keep the testing going; the second suggestion is to shut down the entire season until things get better.

John: It seems as if things’re getting worse, so the second option could be an excellent idea.

Donald: Agreed.

Russ: The other messed-upthing about all of this is that the virus isn’t just affecting our sports; it’s also affecting the movie theaters, the restaurants, etc.—I mean, enough is enough! Listen, if things get any worse, I’m going to shut it down. I’m 63 years old with COPD, and I can’t take that chance that they’ll, simply, come up soon with a solution and everything’ll be all right. So, no, I’m not holding much hope. I mean, just with the past college football playoffs, there was a decent chance that one or all of those 4 teams in the Final Four could have had to forfeit these major games due to COVID-19 infections. One team could have gone on to the final round without winning a game, and that, to me, is not cool.

Donald: I’m with you, Russell: the current effects on the sports world has been devastating. Especially considering the fact that we have players— while a game is being held— getting up, removing their team’s clothing and walking out.

Patrick: Oh, you mean Tampa Bay's Antonio Brown. I do know there have been many cancellations due to teams—in every sport—not being able to even field a complete-enough team to, at the very least, limp through a competition. I also read that the NFL entered the season with vaccination rates of 94% for the players and nearly 100% for the other staff members. In six testing periods between September 5 and November 27, 110 players out of 1696 and 187 staff members out of 7,360 tested positive.

John: That’s pretty good.

Patrick: I know, right? Well, toward the end of week 14, omicron made its presence known and, on December 13, a whopping 37 players tested positive, and it didn’t stop there. By the end of the week, more players had tested positive than in the previous 14 weeks combined. Combined.

John: And, to add a lil’bit to that, since that date—December 13—nearly 200 NFL players have tested positive for the virus and, about a week later, 150+ players were on the CO- VID-19/reserve list.

Russ: It’s been amazing, y’all. Like I said, I’m nearly ready to give it all up because this is so frustrating. I want a solution. And I want it soon. I do have hope, but I’m worried.

Patrick: Well, the one thing to lean on, Russ, is a vast majority of those testing positive are vaccinated and asymptomatic. And, with that, the theory is that there’s less of a viral load, leading to a lower spread. Sounds like a positive path, fellas.

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