Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
College Football In Disarray As Some Universities Say Yes, Others Say No
CNN: College Sports' 'Power Five' Leaders Are Discussing Postponing Football Season Amid Coronavirus Concerns, Reports Say
Leaders from college sports' "Power Five" conferences discussed postponing the football season and other fall sports over the weekend amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports from multiple sports news outlets including ESPN, Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports, who all cited several sources. No decision has been reached yet, and the discussions are expected to continue over the next few days. (Dotson and Silverman, 8/10)
The Wall Street Journal: The Mid-American Becomes First Top-Tier Conference To Cancel Football In Fall
The Mid-American Conference won’t play sports including football this fall because of health concerns posed by the coronavirus pandemic, becoming the first league in the top-tier Football Bowl Subdivision to punt on sports. The cancellation carries major implications for college football, a sport that serves as the financial engine of most athletic departments. The fall schedule grows more uncertain by the day as cancellations and questions about safety pile up. (Higgins, 8/8)
AP: After MAC Surrenders To Pandemic, Will Other Leagues Follow?
In many ways, the Mid-American Conference has little in common with Power Five leagues that first come to mind when fans think of major college football. There are no 75,000-seat stadiums in the MAC. Million-dollar per year coaches are rare. In a typical season, NFL scouts might find one or two potential first-round draft picks playing at the 12 MAC schools that dot the Midwest. The MAC’s biggest games — #MACtion, if you will — are often played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Its television deal with ESPN pays per year only a few million more than the $9 million Clemson pays coach Dabo Swinney. (Russo, 8/8)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: No Georgia Athletes Have Opted Out As SEC Releases COVID Protocols
Georgia’s Ron Courson has been on the front lines of the battle to bring sports back despite an unrelenting global pandemic, and he believes it can be done. But he said it can happen only through rigorous testing, vigilant monitoring and the full cooperation of the athletes themselves. The Bulldogs’ longtime director of sports medicine, who sits on the SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force, detailed for reporters Friday what UGA has been doing and will do as plans continue to conduct football and other sports fall. Courson’s briefing came in the wake of the SEC’s unveiling Friday of minimum medical protocols that must be met for competitions to be conducted. (Towers, 8/7)
The Wall Street Journal: Alabama Isn’t Giving Up On Playing Football This Fall
Alabama’s blockbuster opening game has been canceled, the football team has weathered a mini-outbreak of Covid-19 and the Crimson Tide’s celebrity coach is urging Alabamians to wear masks as the coronavirus pandemic surges all around him. But Alabama, like most of college football, is still in game-on mode for fall. The reason: it thinks its campus is the safest place for athletes at the moment, not the riskiest. (Higgins, 8/8)
AP: Players Unite In Push To Save College Season, Create Union
Michigan defensive back Hunter Reynolds saw the tweets from Trevor Lawrence and other college football players, pushing for the opportunity to play this season, despite the pandemic. Reynolds, one of the organizers behind a players’ rights movement in the Big Ten, didn’t like the way some on social media seemed to be pitting Lawrence’s message against the efforts of #BigTenUnited and #WeAreUnited. (Russo, 8/10)
The New York Times: Players To UConn Coach: ‘There’s No Way That We Can Play’
Connecticut football coach Randy Edsall’s moment of clarity came when he was recently walking up the hill to his team’s practice field. In the month since they had been back on campus, his players had assiduously adhered to safety protocols, which included daily screenings, and after more than 200 tests, none were positive for the coronavirus. They were also in a state that has kept a relative lid on the virus — Connecticut’s cases per capita is less than one tenth of that in hot spots like Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Texas. (Witz, 8/9)
In professional sports —
AP: Referees Group Has Agreement With NFL On Virus Protections
The NFL Referees Association has reached an agreement with the NFL for health protections along with a program allowing game and replay officials to opt out of the season. The association announced Sunday that the NFLRA’s board of directors unanimously endorsed the plan. Members will review the details Monday in a video conference call. (8/9)
CNN: MLB Postpones Cardinals' Series Against Pirates After More Test Positive For Covid-19
Major League Baseball has postponed scheduled games between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates after additional members of the Cardinals' team and staff tested positive for Covid-19. The Cardinals organization told CNN Sunday that John Mozeliak, the team's president of baseball operations, confirmed one additional Cardinals player has tested positive. (Dotson, Marin and Silverman, 8/10)
