Coronavirus (sports-related only)

LoneStarPhan 2020-06-25 17:30:26 UTC #35

I was wondering if players put on the COVID IL will be separately identified as being on that list or just listed as on "the" IL. Seems like having a COVID IL would (could) violate medical privacy laws.

Purduke 2020-06-25 18:03:52 UTC #36

From a purely HIPA standpoint, why would it be different from putting somebody on the DL and announcing they were having Tommy John surgery? Have to think the standard MLB contract has governing language that would cover that, but I understand the reason for the question.

zambonir 2020-06-25 18:05:56 UTC #37

Interesting question. Technically MLB players consent to have their medical information released all the time (details of injury, surgery) and it may be necessary here as well. No matter how they try to do it logistically it's still gonna be pretty obvious.

andyb 2020-06-25 18:08:44 UTC #38

The pessimistic side of whether we should have team sports now:

Leagues probably need to think of moving away from Florida (this league is doing a Utah tournament but lots of the positive cases are from FL). The state was begging all these sports to come there but that was when they had a below average number of cases.

zambonir 2020-06-25 18:18:10 UTC #39

The NWSL news being the thing that prompted me to start this thread. I think there's a good chance they'll be okay in Utah. But Orlando could go very wrong for MLS and NBA. So could any number of baseball spring training attempts. I'm sure these outbreaks have been a wake-up call in terms of the teams and athletes realizing they have to be very strict about their behavior, but there's still so many other people involved who won't be quarantined.

Also, how are the baseball players going to eat? I was gonna say that at least they don't have to worry about groceries or restaurants, but there aren't going to be the usual team meals (maybe they'll all get individually served portions?)

julio 2020-06-25 20:27:46 UTC #40

2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Coronavirus (Sports-Related and General)

bkox 2020-06-25 22:36:35 UTC #41

julio 2020-06-26 00:08:25 UTC #42

A post was merged into an existing topic: Coronavirus (general - personal, gov't response, etc. - not sports-specific)

julio 2020-06-26 00:22:16 UTC #43

Here's the deal.

zambonir created this topic in the hope that we could separate coronavirus discussion that applies to the Phillies, to MLB, to sports generally, from all the other coronavirus discussion - which ranges all over the place, from links to research articles to outright CT. I think this is a reasonable separation, and I ask that you all please try to respect it, OK?

If people err - and if it's straightforward to do so - I can sometimes move off-topic posts from this thread to the general thread. (I've moved three such posts already today.) However, I cannot do that effectively if there are active discussions in both threads, or if people decide to combine sports-related and off-topic stuff in the same post. Things get all mixed up. So... I'll move posts when that's relatively easy; when it's not easy, I will likely just delete off-topic stuff from this thread, unless it's ignored and nobody tries to respond to the OT stuff. I'd rather not delete material, but if an OT discussion breaks out here... well, don't say I didn't warn you!

If you're not sure which thread to use - use the general thread, NOT this one. And if you feel obliged to comment on this "policy," please don't do that here - it's OT!

zambonir 2020-06-26 00:37:49 UTC #44

I realize it is not always cut and dry. And thread creep happens everywhere. But it was hard to keep up with sports-specific news in the other thread, which also frequently turns into a politics (and philosophy!) thread. And the other thread was about to max out (and did). So, obviously your call, but you also don't have to sweat it too much - I'm sure if you went through the two most active baseball threads right now you could find things that belong in one rather than the other (and also things that could be here).

I still think the NWSL tournament will be ok regardless of the trend in Utah - assuming another team didn't enter the state with the virus, and if they follow their protocols successfully. They are extremely confined, with only eight teams playing a very limited number of outdoor games. MLS, MLB and NBA are facing a much more difficult challenge for any number of reasons.

Whether Utah should have still allowed the league to proceed if things are heading in the wrong direction is another question but we'll be asking that about all the leagues.

Purduke 2020-06-26 00:42:37 UTC #45

If you succeed in establishing this discipline a nomination as Mask Czar in Austin is sure to follow.

zambonir 2020-06-26 01:20:36 UTC #46

Believe it when I see it

Everybody keeps asking me if we’re going to be playing football with fans this season. Truth is, Vol fans statewide can help determine that outcome.

From now through kickoff, masks are a must. pic.twitter.com/mXyL1wqC57
— Phillip Fulmer ( @phillipfulmer ) June 25, 2020

Lawman 2020-06-26 17:23:38 UTC #47

Passan gets one thing wrong. He quotes an executive in stating:

As one executive put it: "Baseball that makes people sick is not baseball."

Watching the Phillies play baseball through the late 80's, most of the 90's, and most of 2000's to date was baseball, yet it made me sick. So, I think he's wrong there.

zambonir 2020-06-26 21:46:25 UTC #48

Pretty low

flyers19rw 2020-06-27 14:44:23 UTC #49

Someone with some sanity needs to shut down this idea of college football this fall. Kansas State temporarily shut down its program this week. Some pretty ugly numbers at LSU. Many other schools are facing similar situations. The environment is not right for the game at this time.

zambonir 2020-06-27 16:51:19 UTC #50

I certainly I agree but I don't think the schools see it that way. They expected a lot of positive tests and they also expect some teams to have to cancel multiple games. I just don't see how that's safe for the referees and coaches and staff, or anyone on campus as teams travel.

Money is a powerful force. If they do finally move in the direction of not playing they'll still want to play in March.

julio 2020-06-27 17:11:34 UTC #51

Yep. Money is the driving force.

And it's not as if asking players, coaches, staff, referees, etc., to take these risks is radically different. Big college sports - NCAA football and basketball especially - have been primarily about exploiting "student" athletes for big-money payoffs for a long time. Graduation rates for Division 1 football and basketball athletes have never been good - and that's notwithstanding the special treatment that is often provided (steering athletes to majors with compliant faculty, tutoring, providing "assistance" with assignments, etc., etc.). Exposing this community to CV-19 is exploitative, to be sure - but that's been the business model for decades.

zambonir 2020-06-27 17:46:47 UTC #52

Agreed, that is what makes it extra-gross at the college level. At least the pros have agency (and compensation).

I think there's still a legitimate question here that's not just about sports - how do we reasonably go back to "normal" activities if a vaccine is still a year (or even years) away? What combination of testing, contact tracing and mitigation works? What number of postive tests is actually a red flag? Overall Clemson has 47 positives out of 430 tests (for all athletes) so is football spreading it because of football itself (or player socialization). Did more players bring it back to campus? There's still no reason to have football (besides the $) but apparently Clemson plans to have 75% of its classes in-person too.

Coronavirus (general - personal, gov't response, etc. - not sports-specific)

julio 2020-06-27 19:29:42 UTC #53

A post was merged into an existing topic: Coronavirus (general - personal, gov't response, etc. - not sports-specific)

schillingfan 2020-06-27 21:26:56 UTC #54

Obviously they need to talk to all the infected and and find out where they have been. I don’t know if there is a timeline for when you test positive. If you are infected today, will you be positive in a test tomorrow? What a mess. The infection can be brought from elsewhere by the student, or contracted by going out into the school community or from other athletes. Just wear masks everyone.