2020 has been one of the strangest years ever, from World War 3 threats in January to the pandemic with no end in sight. Sports are a way for many people to escape the struggles of day-to-day life. To see it all vanish overnight is surreal. With all these leagues coming back at relatively the same time, it has been nonstop action. Not every company had the same plan for return to play.There are issues specifically with the MLB and NFL.
Major League Baseball saw an astonishing number of COVID-19 cases in their shortened seasons. There was little action from ownership to enforce rules. They were mixing that with players disregarding for their safety and others. It was bound to have some consequences.
The NFL seems more structured but lacked any real security for players, fans, and personal.Multiple cases every week should not be the norm.
Every sports league should look at the fantastic work both the NBA and the NHL did during their playoff bubbles. For months, nobody thought both tournaments would go on without any outbreaks. Their format did eventually work. Thousands of tests on hundreds of workers with zero positive cases in the bubbles, but could it sustain an entire season?
Many sports are about to begin their Winter schedules. It is a balancing act for players,ownership, and fans. When you risk safety, players and fans may have more freedom right off the bat, exposing them to more significant problems down the road. If you take away all their humanity, a bubble could support them forever. That’s not morally correct, hurting the players who make the owners money.
On the extreme side, the most prominent junior hockey organization in Ontario (the OHL) banned body checking during games. You can debate that it would make games safer for the kids,but then you look to other leagues in the sport and see how successful they have been without major changes.
Altering the way you naturally play might be worse than cancelling the season altogether.How much are you willing to risk for games to get back to some sense of normalcy? Change the sport on a mental and physical level or go on an extended hiatus to get the virus under control?
We are experiencing once in a lifetime events every other week at this point. Every league has its own path to take. Hopefully, the new year treat us sports fans well. Masks or not, we are living on a page of history.
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