Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Alabama Football Coach's Positive Test Raises Concerns About Travel
The New York Times: Nick Saban, Alabama’s Football Coach, Tests Positive For Coronavirus
Nick Saban, the football coach at the University of Alabama and one of the most powerful figures in college sports, said Wednesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, deepening the pandemic’s turmoil throughout the Southeastern Conference. Saban, whose second-ranked team is scheduled to host No. 3 Georgia on Saturday, said in a statement that he was asymptomatic and isolating at his home in Tuscaloosa. Alabama’s athletic director, Greg Byrne, also tested positive, the university said. (Blinder, 10/14)
The Washington Post: Florida-LSU Football Game Postponed After Gators’ Covid Outbreak
Saturday’s college football game between No. 10 Florida and LSU has been postponed, the Southeastern Conference announced Wednesday, after the Gators’ program was placed on hold Tuesday because of a number of positive coronavirus tests. Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said the team’s trip to Texas A&M for a game last weekend was “the root” of the outbreak and told reporters that some players did not report having symptoms of covid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, before leaving on Friday. Stricklin said the players thought they were suffering from allergies. (Boren and Bonesteel, 10/14)
The Washington Post: NCAA Allows Winter-Sport Athletes Extra Season Of Eligibility
The NCAA’s Division I Council voted to give eligibility relief to winter-sport athletes regardless of how many games they play during the 2020-21 academic year. Athletes now have the opportunity to play five seasons within a six-year span rather than the typical four seasons in five years. Winter sports are set to begin in the upcoming months, and some of those seasons will resemble a normal schedule. However, the circumstances presented by the novel coronavirus pandemic will make the experience different from what athletes envisioned when they pursued college sports. (Giambalvo, 10/14)
The Wall Street Journal: The NFL Tries To Prevent Its Own Covid-19 Second Wave
The Tennessee Titans played a football game Tuesday night, and there was a phenomenal sigh of relief from the NFL. It didn’t matter that the Titans beat the Buffalo Bills, 42-16, to improve to 4-0. The Titans were marooned playing the NFL’s second Tuesday game since 1946 (when a team called the Boston Yanks took the field) because Tennessee was home to the NFL’s first coronavirus outbreak. The Titans were sidelined for more than two weeks because of more than 20 infections inside the team, part of a growing Covid-19 problem in the NFL that also caused postponement of a New England Patriots’ game last weekend. Worried that the same situation could play out over and over again with even thornier consequences, the league is taking one more stab at beefing up protocols to prevent further scheduling chaos. (Beaton, 10/14)
