"The Dangers of Football Returning From Coronavirus
The country’s most popular sport is incompatible with social distancing, and African-American players face higher risks"
[Hum, my question is: are high-mass professional and college really at risk, or at risk that much?]
"The dangers come because of the nature of the sport itself and the players it features. Football is incompatible with social distancing. It also relies on a large share of people, despite their relatively young ages, who could face a disproportionate risk of severe complications from the coronavirus. According to the NFL Players Association’s ongoing research, more than 70% of NFL players fall into a serious, at-risk category, such as being African-American or having a high body-mass index.
At the college level, even though many football teams at the nation’s top conferences don’t kick off voluntary workouts until this week, earlier starts have resulted in about 30 athletes at a dozen schools—including at Alabama, Iowa State and Mississippi—testing positive for Covid-19. That led to quarantines and signaled how thorny it could be for teams so large to keep operating. It also could undercount the numbers, since some athletic departments aren’t disclosing test results due to privacy concerns.
But while NFL teams and the biggest college programs can afford rigorous testing and dramatic infrastructure projects, the same may not be true for the vast majority of people who play football—at the high-school level or younger.
And at every level, from the youth through the pros, little can be done to change the risks that are inherent to the sport and the people who play it.
Now, those plans are coming into focus. The NFL and NFL Players Association, last week, released its first set of guidelines for players coming back to team facilities. The steps include overhauled workouts and meetings, daily screenings and prepackaged meals in lieu of buffets, according to memos reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
And those same protocols are already receiving pushback: Ravens coach John Harbaugh said last week in a radio interview that they’re “humanly impossible.”
Dr. Thom Mayer, the chief doctor for the NFL Players Association, rattled off a number of potential factors: the high incidence of complications among African-Americans, people with high body-mass indices and others with sleep apnea. “You just described a huge chunk of the NFL players,” he added.
In an April study of 5,700 hospitalized Covid-19 patients in the New York City area, the top comorbidities were obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. Of those who were hospitalized, 41.7 percent were obese, defined as people with a body-mass index over 30. Many NFL players would fall into that category—offensive linemen, for example, routinely weigh upwards of 300 pounds.
More broadly, African-Americans make up 46% of the players in college football’s five top conferences and more than half of the players in the NFL. Data from cities across the country has shown that black people in the U.S. have been hit especially hard by the virus, dying at a rate that’s nearly twice their share of the population. Possible explanations have included pre-existing conditions and socioeconomic factors stemming from systemic inequality.
The risk of young people dying of Covid-19 is low, said Dr. Mick Koester, chairman of the sports medicine advisory committee for the National Federation of State High School Associations. But, Dr. Koester said, “I’m more concerned about them getting it and then spreading it to Grandma and Grandpa. We also certainly have concern for coaches and officials as well.”
Dr. Koester added that, just like in college, high-school football is a high revenue sport that drives the financials for state associations.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/world/coronavirus-live-updates.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
The country’s most popular sport is incompatible with social distancing, and African-American players face higher risks"
[Hum, my question is: are high-mass professional and college really at risk, or at risk that much?]
"The dangers come because of the nature of the sport itself and the players it features. Football is incompatible with social distancing. It also relies on a large share of people, despite their relatively young ages, who could face a disproportionate risk of severe complications from the coronavirus. According to the NFL Players Association’s ongoing research, more than 70% of NFL players fall into a serious, at-risk category, such as being African-American or having a high body-mass index.
At the college level, even though many football teams at the nation’s top conferences don’t kick off voluntary workouts until this week, earlier starts have resulted in about 30 athletes at a dozen schools—including at Alabama, Iowa State and Mississippi—testing positive for Covid-19. That led to quarantines and signaled how thorny it could be for teams so large to keep operating. It also could undercount the numbers, since some athletic departments aren’t disclosing test results due to privacy concerns.
But while NFL teams and the biggest college programs can afford rigorous testing and dramatic infrastructure projects, the same may not be true for the vast majority of people who play football—at the high-school level or younger.
And at every level, from the youth through the pros, little can be done to change the risks that are inherent to the sport and the people who play it.
Now, those plans are coming into focus. The NFL and NFL Players Association, last week, released its first set of guidelines for players coming back to team facilities. The steps include overhauled workouts and meetings, daily screenings and prepackaged meals in lieu of buffets, according to memos reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
And those same protocols are already receiving pushback: Ravens coach John Harbaugh said last week in a radio interview that they’re “humanly impossible.”
Dr. Thom Mayer, the chief doctor for the NFL Players Association, rattled off a number of potential factors: the high incidence of complications among African-Americans, people with high body-mass indices and others with sleep apnea. “You just described a huge chunk of the NFL players,” he added.
In an April study of 5,700 hospitalized Covid-19 patients in the New York City area, the top comorbidities were obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. Of those who were hospitalized, 41.7 percent were obese, defined as people with a body-mass index over 30. Many NFL players would fall into that category—offensive linemen, for example, routinely weigh upwards of 300 pounds.
More broadly, African-Americans make up 46% of the players in college football’s five top conferences and more than half of the players in the NFL. Data from cities across the country has shown that black people in the U.S. have been hit especially hard by the virus, dying at a rate that’s nearly twice their share of the population. Possible explanations have included pre-existing conditions and socioeconomic factors stemming from systemic inequality.
The risk of young people dying of Covid-19 is low, said Dr. Mick Koester, chairman of the sports medicine advisory committee for the National Federation of State High School Associations. But, Dr. Koester said, “I’m more concerned about them getting it and then spreading it to Grandma and Grandpa. We also certainly have concern for coaches and officials as well.”
Dr. Koester added that, just like in college, high-school football is a high revenue sport that drives the financials for state associations.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/world/coronavirus-live-updates.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
