Concern growing for 2020 college football season

[Pobilly]

So if anyone is keeping track today, (news big 10 is cancelling), then Mich coach and Ohio State coach vote no confidence in either of their presidents. Now word is BIG 10 is backtracking on cancelling the season. Part 2, report of SEC trying to lure other teams (OH ST) (MICH) (Texas) (OKLAHOMA) to form a super conference. After this report more rumors of BIG 10 Backtracking, ACC Coaches tweeting their season will go on as planned and they will not follow any other conference. It is officially going to be a crazy August 2020. Who knows what is being said behind closed doors. lol

Sankey said they are trying every way possible to have a season but does not know if it will happen. So same ole same ole. He is talking both sides so he can be ready either way.

[Dwight Schrute]

So if anyone is keeping track today, (news big 10 is cancelling), then Mich coach and Ohio State coach vote no confidence in either of their presidents. Now word is BIG 10 is backtracking on cancelling the season. Part 2, report of SEC trying to lure other teams (OH ST) (MICH) (Texas) (OKLAHOMA) to form a super conference. After this report more rumors of BIG 10 Backtracking, ACC Coaches tweeting their season will go on as planned and they will not follow any other conference. It is officially going to be a crazy August 2020. Who knows what is being said behind closed doors. lol

Sankey said they are trying every way possible to have a season but does not know if it will happen. So same ole same ole. He is talking both sides so he can be ready either way.

I don't think he's talking out of the both sides of his mouth - at the end of the day he's at the mercy of his Presidents, most of whom are listening to their coaches and Athletic Directors.

I truly don't know how I feel about this. I badly want football. But Covid is pretty dangerous and we don't know the full effects of it yet. But if players want to play and know the risks then maybe we should listen. I don't know.

Selfishly I'd LOVE to see a super conference. We'd get murdered but it would still be incredible.

[Spiritof96]

If a player gets COVID and dies and his family sues the NCAA and university for all they're worth, what happens then? It just takes one.

Also, there are questions about how COVID affects the heart, and seeing as how football is one sport that consists of 350 pound athletes, I'd say it's a legit concern.

It's a liability issue as it pertains to college sports, not a political issue. You're smart enough to know that, so I'm not sure why you're pushing your #waron agenda here.

Football is a dangerous sport, and there is a certain level of risk. With that said, I'd argue that the chances of a player coming down with COVID and dying or infecting a susceptible family member are higher than a kid breaking his neck. Inherent risk and all that is the big difference in the legal conversation.

Frivolous lawsuits happen every day. UK is sued several times a year over nonsense and the occasional justified complaint.

Other fears and concerns should be driven by data rather than "well I heard it might do x." Please present data on x side effect that isn't death concern for the 25 and under demographic.

[KCKUKFan]

Frivolous lawsuits happen every day. UK is sued several times a year over nonsense and the occasional justified complaint.

Other fears and concerns should be driven by data rather than "well I heard it might do x." Please present data on x side effect that isn't death concern for the 25 and under demographic.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with football there is inherent risk that protects the universities from injury lawsuits. That would not apply to COVID, which is why were seeing all these schools so hesitant.

How many athletes would be willing to sign a waiver if it came to that? I doubt very few, despite what we've seen from Lawrence and guys like him. Even then, those guys are talking about unionizing.

[Spiritof96]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with football there is inherent risk that protects the universities from injury lawsuits. That would not apply to COVID, which is why were seeing all these schools so hesitant.

How many athletes would be willing to sign a waiver if it came to that? I doubt very few, despite what we've seen from Lawrence and guys like him. Even then, those guys are talking about unionizing.

No that is incorrect. For starters, the students returning to class as well as football players are aware of or should be aware of the risks. This, therefore, undercuts their ability to sue unless they can prove the University did something or created a situation that was particularly grossly negligent. Universities playing football will have their protocols and the state and federal guidelines at their back helping to establish a "standard of care". Also, football players could be allowed to opt-out and those that opt-in sign and assumption of risk and waiver.

If they can bring 30,000 students back to campus and call that acceptable liability they can certainly do football.

[Jload]

This is madness, a bunch of old men worried about their jobs and people worried about MONEY are cavalierly putting young peoples live at risk. All anyone can argue about is if this young people being shamelessly manipulated over millions of dollars have standing to sue if someone becomes seriously ill or dies. These are young people with there whole lives ahead of them and we are asking them to risk everything so we can watch a stinking football game. Madness, just madness. Have we no morality or are we like the movie Gladiator where the hero screams at the bloodthirsty crowd “Are you not entertained”. If one kid gets sick and dies will we callously say “He knew the risk he was taking to entertain us” or we ask Gods forgiveness for our unspeakable folly. SHUT It DOWN!!!!!

[Spiritof96]

This is madness, a bunch of old men worried about their jobs and people worried about MONEY are cavalierly putting young peoples live at risk.

Except that isn't what is happening at all. Every player who wants to can opt-out...

Last I checked, money paid for scholarships, food, utilities, shelter, facility upkeep, and people's salaries. It's kind of an important thing to have. Just ask someone who doesn't have much of it.

[Jload]

So you will use the”They knew the job was dangerous when they took it” argument when one of these kids gets really sick or dies I suppose. This isn’t war folks, it’s a GAME, and just because some place an insanely inordinate importance on it doesn’t change that. As for the jobs it supports , if I need to NEEDLESSLY put kids health and lives at risk to make a living , might be time to change my line of work!

[40bill]

I understand what Jload is saying, however....these players are almost as likely to die from a hundred other things than Covid. Car wreck, guns, drugs, random shootings. They are some of the highest recovery groups in the world.

[40bill]

In the state of Kentucky, as of today, there have been 11,808 cases of Covid 19 in persons from 0 to 29 years old. Out of that, there has been 1 fatality (sadly, a child under 5).
the largest growing group of cases are choldren... because they are now getting tested, and the younger age group.
This is just fact and numbers. It should be considered as well when weighing the safety of playing vs going wherever home is.

[Spiritof96]

So you will use the”They knew the job was dangerous when they took it” argument when one of these kids gets really sick or dies I suppose. This isn’t war folks, it’s a GAME, and just because some place an insanely inordinate importance on it doesn’t change that. As for the jobs it supports , if I need to NEEDLESSLY put kids health and lives at risk to make a living , might be time to change my line of work!

Life is dangerous. The likelihood of death for this demographic is near zero.

Were the narrative around this that "99.7% of those infected actually recover completely" our feels about the risks to college athletes would be different.

And yes, I believe adults of voting and military service age can make their own decisions about what kind of risks they take on without doing their thinking for them.

[Joneslab]

In the state of Kentucky, as of today, there have been 11,808 cases of Covid 19 in persons from 0 to 29 years old. Out of that, there has been 1 fatality (sadly, a child under 5).
the largest growing group of cases are choldren... because they are now getting tested, and the younger age group.
This is just fact and numbers. It should be considered as well when weighing the safety of playing vs going wherever home is.

They're concerned about a lot of other issues besides players potentially dying, one being a rare condition where heart inflammation occurs. That may not even be linked to COVID but it might be.

It's frustrating how slow the research is about COVID mainly because these last five months have felt like five years. But I don't think they've got a good grip on how the virus works yet and so you see situations where there's probably too much caution and others where people aren't taking enough.

[Catsrock]

This is madness, a bunch of old men worried about their jobs and people worried about MONEY are cavalierly putting young peoples live at risk. All anyone can argue about is if this young people being shamelessly manipulated over millions of dollars have standing to sue if someone becomes seriously ill or dies. These are young people with there whole lives ahead of them and we are asking them to risk everything so we can watch a stinking football game. Madness, just madness. Have we no morality or are we like the movie Gladiator where the hero screams at the bloodthirsty crowd “Are you not entertained”. If one kid gets sick and dies will we callously say “He knew the risk he was taking to entertain us” or we ask Gods forgiveness for our unspeakable folly. SHUT It DOWN!!!!!

Actually--other than out west/PAC12-- the players are the ones arguing loudest to let them play. Majority are willing to accept the risk to do what they love. And to throw some science into the argument CNN is the propaganda machine pushing how dangerous the virus is while Foxnews is the propaganda machine arguing it is not. So using CNN's numbers you divide # of deaths by # of positive tests and get that 3.5% of those who test positive die. Then the same channel says we are underestimating the # of people who actually have the virus by 10 to 24 times. Picking a # halfway between this guess you divide 3.5 by 17 to get a fatality rate of 0.2% of those who get infected. Can certainly see how it's conceivable the virus is more contagious/more easily transmissed but possibly is in fact not more deadly than the flu and much less dangerous than pneumonia.

But there is still a lot unknown about the disease including long term effects. If this issue of myocarditis proves to be a real risk then no one should be allowed to play. I therefore have not argued for a football season. Just saying I can see how a bunch of healthy young men would want to play the game they love and others can opt out. It's not really just a bunch of selfish fans trying to get their fix.

[Brasslock]

I don't know how we can get a handle on safety if it takes up to two weeks to get test results. If we can get the turn around on test results in a day, or two at the most, then we can takes steps to control the spread of this virus. I've taught in public schools and in universities. Personally, I would feel much safer on a football field than I would in a classroom, crowded hallway, or cafeteria. I'm 77 so as far as the severity of consequences goes, I fall in the high risk category. Then I read a study indicating a jogger leaves a "wake" of covid particles for 30 feet behind them. If the jogger has been tested and has lived in a bubble of sorts, then I'm not overly concerned. If we can't implement needed safety protocols, then I'm with you Jload, "Lock it Down." The problem is that schools and sports may not have the financial resources needed to implement what is needed. Kids want to play. Kids want to go to school. Parents want their kids to go to school. Me? I will continue to wear this darn mask, social distance, and wash my hands. Be safe everyone. This too shall pass.

[Lighthouse]

Our governor and his wife felt sick the other day, they were tested and knew the results that same day, so it is possible to know earlier than 2 weeks.