Let me just give you a taste of what has been going on in the sports world this week for those of you who did not know. On Thanksgiving, the NFL was supposed to hold a very pivotal Ravens vs Steelers game at 8:20 pm. However, several (upwards of 20-30) staff and players of the Baltimore Ravens tested positive for COVID-19. This meant that the game clearly could not be held that day. So the league decided to postpone the game to Sunday (when the rest of the games get played). That game… didn’t happen, again because more positive tests came back for the Ravens. The league then decided to push the game back to Tuesday. It does not take a psychic to realize that this game got postponed yet again, but to 24 hours later, on Wednesday.
On the other side of the coin, the NBA recently finished their over a year long season in October when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in 6 games (NBA playoffs have a 7 game series). They played in a bubble starting in June, and never had a positive test the entire time the games were played. The WNBA (women’s basketball), NWHL (women’s hockey) and the NWSL (women’s soccer) also followed a bubble construction and never had a positive test. The NBA season generally starts in October and ends in May-June. This past season ended in October, so obviously they could not pick up that same month. The league decided to start their season around Christmastime, much to the dismay of the fans of the Lakers, Heat, and other teams that made the playoffs. See, professional athletes need time to recover, and players like Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, and others who played well into October, are not going to get sufficient recovery time as opposed to players who did not make the playoffs, or players who were not even invited to the bubble in the first place.
In the college football side of things, Clemson, one of the most dominant teams, had their best player test positive for COVID, and they had to play without him, and of course they lost. Ohio State, another dominant team, continuously gets their games cancelled due to mini outbreaks within teams. This is a problem because teams can only have a limited number of cancelled games to be eligible for the college football playoffs.
Finally, college basketball is just starting, and so many games have already been cancelled or postponed.
All in all, the NFL, the NCAA, and even the NBA are all in shambles. The leagues insisted on having their seasons (through hell or high water) and all of their justifications were rooted in the profits. Players have tested positive for covid, “recovered” and came back playing worse than they ever have played before, re: Cam Newton. Teams are forced to play without their key players, re: Denver Broncos. Fans of the sports are being teased with the possibility of watching key important competitive games, just to have them constantly postponed or cancelled, re: Baltimore vs Pittsburgh. The professional sports world, and I am including the NCAA in professional sports because somebody is making money off of these “amateur” athletes, is a shitshow, and all of this could’ve been avoided if leagues took a page from the WNBA, the NWSL, the NBA (for their first season in covid), and just prioritized player safety instead of prioritizing dollar signs. This pandemic is not being taken seriously by the league offices. They are having zoom meetings to discuss whether the players should play! If it was safe enough for them to play, it’s safe enough for you guys to meet in person! I hope these leagues start valuing these players as people instead of just acting like they are, because at this rate, they are jeopardizing their futures and their families futures.
Unruly Bodies 
Ugh, this is such an important topic. It feels like the rules for COVID only apply to the little guys. The President didn’t wear a mask for months, famous people looked like they didn’t give a hoot, and now athletes still get to have a career when so many people have lost their jobs since March. People who watch sports should pick a different hobby during this and people who play shouldn’t be painted as heroes who are playing for their fans, they should be staying home and staying safe. I really like your point that if the meeting is held on zoom, the players should probably be staying home. Thanks for a COVID sports update and a great post!!
Oh my god, I’m a sports fan, but they are literally putting people’s lives at risk for a money-making scheme. Sports teams rake in revenue, especially now considering everyone is stuck at home, supposedly anyways. Not only that, but tickets to games are still being sold!!! People are dying and all anyone cares about is a contest of teams comprised of mostly black people in the NBA and NFL. It feels like they are the ones disproportionately affected on and off the field. The zoom call thing is just further proof that those in power care about themselves, but sports players are pawns in the grand scheme of life. They make more money than the average person, but they have no more power over their life than an average person does.
Fair warning I’m not a sports fan. Most of what little I know is from hearing conversations with family. However, right now the idea of continuing professional sports is mind-boggling whenever I hear it. Sports tend to be high contact. And a guideline for COVID is to stay 6 feet apart. That’s not at all compatible with most sports. Adding onto that fact sports teams often need to travel. Guess what? Staying home and not traveling is super important right now. With that said I have heard of some sports being held in complete isolation to minimize risks. However, I didn’t know much about the bubble so thanks for sharing!
College sports during the pandemic is a topic that particularly interests me. They DEFINITELY should not have happened. I have several people from my high school on social media that are at big football schools and it has been shocking to see the things going on. They still party like COVID-19 doesn’t exist… They have tailgates and watch parties. Drink in front yards like the world is fine and nothing is wrong. It’s appalling to see but truly shows me how things are outside of my bubble of responsible friends. The players and coaching staff aren’t the only ones involved, the fans have a large impact too
Will never for the life of me understand why sports were not postponed this year. My partner is a huge MMA fan and, by extension, I also am now a big fan. I was never really into sports, and even in watching MMA, I think I watch it because I think it’s crazy how bodies look during a fight I don’t know how to describe it… ANYWAY! The UFC created “Fight Island”, which is as it sounds, an island that was based in Abu Dabi where they were able to bring in a good majority of their fighters and were able to keep it very closed off and with regular testing. For example, a fighter could only bring 4 members of their team for their corner, there was a minimal film crew, a referee, an announcer (I love Bruce Buffer I think I only watch just to see him to be honest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDbMTB7bxLI), and various owners/trainers. The number of people in their arena was maybe the amount of one football team, football players only. Even then, that’s still too much. I don’t see why we needed to have sports at all this year. There are a billion other forms of entertainment, would you really die if you couldn’t see grown men slamming into each other over a ball for not even a full year??????