After quarantine, life during the COVID-19 pandemic became the new reality for Americans. Many were hesitant about the idea of national sports leagues taking part in their regular seasons. One league, the NBA, has proved doubters wrong, but other leagues including the NFL have had to face growing restrictions as multiple teams have contracted COVID-19.
In late spring, the NBA Players’ Association made headlines after announcing that their teams would all be quarantined in an exclusive “bubble” only accessible to players, coaches, partners and children. The bubble is located in Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida, where teams are divided into three different hotels based on their preliminary rankings, also known as seeding.
Players entered the bubble on July 7th, after the Raptors held a test run beginning June 22nd in Fort Myers, Florida. While team-members are technically allowed to leave, the Players’ Association warns against it as each player will have to self-quarantine for at least 10 days and have a reduced paycheck for every missed game.
Players are offered a lot of different amenities including pools, spas, and nightly movie screenings, but there are some strict protocols on activities. For example, they are only allowed to play ping-pong in singles and not doubles in order to reduce the spread of COVID.
Other protocols enforced by the six-phase plan emphasize the use of masks and other PPE as well as routine testing for everyone in the bubble. These regulations have been extremely effective in stopping the spread of COVID-19, and from July to August, there was a 5 week period of zero positive COVID tests. So far, only four players have broken the quarantine.
The NFL on the other hand, has had multiple cases in their short season. The NFL official season began in August, and already teams including the Tennessee Titans, the New England Patriots, and the Oakland Raiders have at least one teammate infected with COVID.After administering over 300,000 tests, there have been at least 58 positive tests, and the numbers are growing every week.
The NFL is a lot more lax with their COVID rules than the NBA. They have no bubble or strict regulations for their players. All players have to do is take a daily COVID test (except on Game Days) and not leave their cities during their time off. If a player tests positive, they must be quarantined for 10 days, which goes in direct conflict with the CDC’s advice of a 14-day quarantine period.
Critics from sports news sites like ESPN and SportsNet argue that there is a lack of transparency as teams are not allowed to formally name players who have tested positive for COVID. Teams are allowed to report the number of positive cases, but only players are allowed to name themselves. While Patriots players Stephon Gilmore and Cam Newton have formally announced their positive-tests, the 18 Titans players and staff have not, showing the lack of cohesiveness in the league.
The league has been forced to reschedule week 5 games involving the Titans and the Patriots. It is currently investigating if the Titans have met outside of practice, creating a “super-spreader” event. If they are found guilty, they could face forfeited games or consequences involving draft picks.
Because of the transparency and strict regulations on players, the NBA has done a much better job of controlling the spread of COVID-19. The NFL has had a very open-ended set of rules that allow for the spread of COVID that they can not afford. Even if teams are safely practicing and using the utmost caution, they are still susceptible to the virus through games with teams who aren’t being safe. In order to have safe sports seasons this year, all national leagues must take a page out of the NBA’s playbook.