Throughout the coronavirus pandemic a few names have dominated news streams, and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease is one of those names. It was Fauci who was a part of the United States coronavirus task force, and he did his rounds on nearly every news outlet to help educate and prepare the country for what was to come.
Thursday, Fauci was a guest on CNN to talk about the NFL, and its potential re-opening plan. Fauci believes the NFL would be wise to follow a plan similar to the NBA, putting players in a bubble city and keeping everyone together rather than travel from city to city.
“Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall,” Fauci told CNN. “If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.”
For those who are banking on the NFL playing games this fall, even if they are in empty stadiums, Fauci's comments certainly did not inspire confidence in those contests taking place. However, the NFL responded to Fauci's comments via the league's chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills. This per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network:
"Dr. Fauci has identified the important health and safety issues we and the NFL Players Association, together with our joint medical advisors, are addressing to mitigate the health risk to players, coaches and other essential personnel,” Sills said. “We are developing a comprehensive and rapid-result testing program and rigorous protocols that call for a shared responsibility from everyone inside our football ecosystem. This is based on the collective guidance of public health officials, including the White House task force, the CDC, infectious disease experts, and other sports leagues.
“Make no mistake, this is no easy task. We will make adjustments as necessary to meet the public health environment as we prepare to play the 2020 season as scheduled with increased protocols and safety measures for all players, personnel and attendees. We will be flexible and adaptable in this environment to adjust to the virus as needed.”
Creating a united front, the NFL's Players Association also released their own statement from their medical director Dr. Thom Mayer.
A statement from NFLPA Medical Director Dr. Thom Mayer: pic.twitter.com/GCPx5JQe6i
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) June 18, 2020
The NFL and NFLPA's own medical personnel weren't bashing Fauci, or his suggestions, but merely stating they understand the challenges the league faces returning to play and are exploring all options to make this as safe as possible for players, staff and fans if they are allowed to attend games. With that said, the league made it very clear they aren't interested in the bubble method of dealing with COVID-19.
“Everyone is very aware there will need to be an additional ramp-up for a period of time — both at the outset for medical exams and education, then clearly as you get into physical activity, you’d have to do it step-wise,” Sills said. “We do not feel it’s practical or appropriate to construct a bubble.”
The NFL will have to make some decisions sooner than later as it pertains to training camp and the preseason, but they will be able to rely on more data and analysis from the NHL, NBA and possibly Major League Baseball before the regular season begins in September.
As more updates are released we will have them right here at DKPittsburghSports.com.
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