While Americans are eager to watch live sports, COVID-19 has made it clear it is not going away anytime soon with the news it has affected MLB, NHL and PGA.
The Philadelphia Phillies shut down their spring training facility in Clearwater, Florida after five players and three personnel tested positive for COVID-19.
The Tampa Bay Lightning would follow suit after three of its players are also tested positive for COVID-19.
Both facilities are in Florida which is fast becoming the new epicenter of COVID-19 in the U.S. as it is rapidly approaching 90,000 cases along with more than 3,100 deaths. The positive tests with the Phillies and Lightning were among the more than 3,800 new COVID-19 cases reported today in the Sunshine state.
Meanwhile, Nick Watney became the first member of the PGA tour to test positive for COVID-19. Watney, 39, withdrew from the RBC Heritage tournament which is currently underway in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
While contact tracing has taken place, the tournament isn't being postponed nor is the PGA planning to cancel any other upcoming events. Those who are in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 are supposed to quarantine for 14 days. As of this writing, Watney's tour partners Luke List and Vaughn Taylor are scheduled to play in next weekend's Travelers' Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. Given the distances PGA tour players travel the chances of spreading COVID-19 across the country are very good. At the very least, nobody Watney has been in contact with on the tour should be playing in any tournaments for the next two weeks. To do otherwise is extremely irresponsible.
Sports are important, but they are not essential to our day to day living. The aforementioned incidents demonstrate it is too soon to resume professional sports. Dr. Anthony Fauci opined that unless the NFL adopted the stringent measures taken by the NBA and MLS that there might be no football this year. This earned Fauci a rebuke from President Trump who said he isn't qualified to make such an assessment. This from the man who suggested we inject ourselves with Clorox.
Unless athletes are prepared to live in an isolated bubble for a prolonged period and/or until an effective therapeutic or vaccine for COVID-19 is developed then I think professional sports should be benched indefinitely - even the PBA.
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