Sports Is Big Money: Will Sports Leagues Behave Responsibly During This Latest Covid Surge?

The massive Omicron-variant surge in the Pandemic of the Unvaccinated in December has had the most visible impact upon college and professional sports. As COVID cases surge, pro sports leagues reevaluate their safety protocols (December 15, 2021):

The next few Calgary Flames games are on hold after 27 players and staff were sidelined due to COVID exposure.

The Brooklyn Nets had only eight players available for Tuesday night’s game after nearly half the team had to enter the league’s COVID protocols – two of them just an hour before tipoff.

And in the past three days, nearly 100 NFL players and some staff have tested positive – including both the starting quarterback and head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

Make no mistake: COVID-19 is once again surging in America’s pro sports leagues.

“We are seeing a fairly fast and sudden increase over multiple markets and multiple sports and multiple countries,” said Zach Binney, a sports epidemiologist at Oxford College of Emory University. “I think everybody’s trying to figure out what’s happening now, what’s driving this?”

With schedules disrupted and stars sidelined, sports leagues are rethinking safety protocols as experts work to understand whether the new outbreaks were being caused by waning vaccine efficacy, looser vigilance around Thanksgiving, or the tip of an omicron iceberg – or perhaps a heady combination of all.

In the NFL, dozens of players tested positive on Monday and Tuesday alone. The Washington Football Team alone reported 15 players out. On the Cleveland Browns, 13 sidelined players include star quarterback Baker Mayfield.

NFL COVID-19 tracker: Updated team-by-team list of players in protocol for Week 15.

Note: Teams depleted of players who are on Covid protocol most definitely affected the outcome of games over this past weekend, and which teams will qualify for the playoffs. The real question: What will the NFL do once the playoffs begin? Will the NFL continue to prevent players who have tested positive but who are asymptomatic from playing, as they are doing now? What happens if a large number of players test positive on one or more teams? Will the NFL actually cancel a playoff game and force a team to forfeit? Would the money-hungry NFL ever cancel a playoff game, or the Super Bowl due to large scale Covid outbreak (the NFL did not last year). And what about the tens of thousands of fans packing into NFL stadiums, all of them without masks and shouting at the top of their lungs? Is there any concern for NFL games becoming a superspreader event in a community? (It does not appear so).

The N.B.A. has not said when the games will be made up. Last season, more than 30 games were postponed at least in part because of the virus.

Dozens of players have entered the N.B.A.’s health and safety protocols over the past two weeks, meaning they have tested positive for the coronavirus or been exposed to someone who has. Generally, players must isolate for 10 days or return two negative tests 24 hours apart to return to play. The league and players’ union plan to increase testing after Christmas Day in response to the outbreak, but have not indicated that they are considering pausing the season. More than 95 percent of N.B.A. players have been vaccinated, according to the league and players’ union.

Meanwhile, more than 94% of NFL players are vaccinated, the league says. The NBA has reported a vaccination rate of about 97%. And in the NHL, only four players out of nearly 700 on team rosters were not vaccinated, the league’s commissioner said in October.

Takeaway: The Omicron-variant is causing “breakthrough” cases among the fully vaccinated (but maybe not yet boosted). The unvaccinated are the most likely source of these infections, putting socially responsible people who did everything they could to protect themselves and others at risk of infection, out of their nihilistic narcissism.

All three leagues have different safety protocols for players who are vaccinated and those who are not, allowing those who have received the shots to wear masks less often, travel more freely and dine together indoors.

Now, leagues are looking to strengthen those measures.

In a memo to teams Monday, the NFL said it would require coaches, staff and other team personnel to receive a booster shot by Dec. 27, with limited exceptions. It notably did not make the same requirement of players, as those rules are subject to negotiation with the players’ union.

“We are currently in talks with our player membership and the league, exploring ways to update our protocols for the health and safety of our members,” said Brandon Parker, a spokesman for the NFL Players’ Association.

A few days later, NHL suspends games with cross-border travel until after Christmas break due to COVID-19 concerns:

The NHL has suspended games involving cross-border travel until after the Christmas break, the league announced Sunday.

The league postponed 12 games involving U.S. teams playing Canadian-based teams from Monday to Thursday, citing concern about “the fluid nature of federal travel restrictions.”

The NHL has already seen 27 games postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

NHL COVID-19 case tracker 2021-22: Updated list of players to miss games this season.

A few days later, The N.B.A. postpones 5 more games because of a Covid outbreak.:

The Nets’ home games against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday and the Washington Wizards on Tuesday were postponed, as were Sunday’s games for Cleveland at Atlanta and New Orleans at Philadelphia. A Monday game between Orlando and Toronto was also postponed, bringing to seven the total number of coronavirus-related postponements this season.

The N.B.A. has not said when the games will be made up. Last season, more than 30 games were postponed at least in part because of the virus

NBA COVID-19 tracker: Updated team-by-team list of players in health and safety protocols.

Dozens of players have entered the N.B.A.’s health and safety protocols over the past two weeks, meaning they have tested positive for the coronavirus or been exposed to someone who has. Generally, players must isolate for 10 days or return two negative tests 24 hours apart to return to play. The league and players’ union plan to increase testing after Christmas Day in response to the outbreak, but have not indicated that they are considering pausing the season. More than 95 percent of N.B.A. players have been vaccinated, according to the league and players’ union.

College basketball is becoming a serious problem. The University of Arizona had to cancel its PAC-12 opener at USC and UCLA this past weekend because of a Covid outbreak among the Los Angels schools. This is happening across college basketball. ‘Wake up, America’: College basketball season crumbling with growing COVID cases; Covid-19 Outbreaks Cause Mass College Basketball Cancellations.

Finally, several college football bowl games have now been canceled due to Covid concerns. 4 college football bowl games have now been canceled because of Covid-19:

A fourth college football bowl game was canceled Monday due to Covid-19 protocols, while at least two other bowl games will feature different teams.

Boise State Athletics announced Monday that it shut down all football team activities due to Covid-19 protocols. As a result, the Broncos will not compete against the Central Michigan Chippewas in the Arizona Bowl scheduled for Friday in Tucson, and the game has since been canceled, game organizers announced Monday.
Boise State’s decision was made in consultation with its medical staff, in addition to campus and public health officials.

[T]he Central Michigan Chippewas will now play in the Sun Bowl against the Washington State Cougars. Central Michigan takes the place of the Miami Hurricanes, who withdrew from the Sun Bowl on Sunday because of Covid-19 issues.

Miami’s deputy director of athletics, Jennifer Strawley said they were “extremely disappointed” not to participate in the Sun Bowl.

“But due to the number of Covid-19 cases impacting our roster we do not have enough student-athletes to safely compete, and the health and safety of our student-athletes will always be our top priority,” Strawley said.

[M]onday’s Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland, between Boston College and East Carolina University was canceled because Boston College did not have enough players available due to a rise in Covid-19 cases, Director of Athletics Pat Kraft said.

“Unfortunately, due to cases of Covid-19 rising within our program since our arrival, along with season-ending injuries, opt-outs and transfers, we just do not have enough players to field a team,” Kraft said. “We are disappointed not to be able to finish the season together as a team, but the health and safety of our program is our highest priority.”

The Military Bowl Parade and the Military Bowl Tailgate Festival, also scheduled for Monday, were canceled.

The inaugural Fenway Bowl in Boston between the University of Virginia and Southern Methodist University — scheduled for Wednesday — was also canceled.
The University of Virginia’s number of Covid-19 cases also prevented it from safely participating in the Fenway Bowl, the school said.

The team was “extremely disappointed,” Virginia Athletics Director Carla Williams said.

“We appreciate all of the hard work by our team and coaching staff. They earned this bowl invitation, and it is unfortunate they will not be able to compete in the game to complete the season,” she said. “We regret how this also impacts our fans who were planning on attending the game as well as the SMU program and its fans.”

All activities associated with the Fenway Bowl will no longer take place, Fenway Sports Management said.

[T]he Hawaii Bowl scheduled for Christmas Eve was canceled, as the University of Hawaii withdrew because of Covid-19 issues. Hawaii was scheduled to face the University of Memphis.

On Wednesday, Texas A&M University announced it would not be able to participate in the Gator Bowl against Wake Forest University on New Year’s Eve. Organizers say Rutgers University will replace Texas A&M in the game.

What will the money-hungry NCAA do if one or more of the teams in the college football playoffs has a Covid outbreak like these other teams? Would the NCAA ever cancel a playoff game, or the National Championship game due to a large scale Covid outbreak, i.e., the Citrus, Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta, Peach and Rose Bowl games? All of these games come with parades and large-scale public events as well. What about the tens of thousands of fans packing into these stadiums, all of them without masks and shouting at the top of their lungs? Is there any concern for college football games becoming a superspreader event in a community? (It does not appear so).