Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NCAA Doctors Express Dismay About Football Conferences' Plans To Play
The Hill: NCAA Head Doctor Calls State Of Pandemic 'Exceptionally Disappointing'
The NCAA's chief medical officer is expressing his disappointment with the situation that college athletics finds itself in due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Brian Hainline told reporters during a virtual media briefing hosted by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) that deciding whether to hold college sports seasons this fall has been hampered by the resurgence of COVID-19 across the country, saying that the NCAA had hoped that testing capacity and positivity rates around the country would be lower. (Johnson, 8/13)
The New York Times: N.C.A.A. Doctors Say Football Is A Bad Idea. But They Aren’t Deciding.
The juxtaposition of Big 12, Southeastern and Atlantic Coast Conference leaders explaining why they were forging ahead with plans to play football this fall while speaking on one of the pandemic’s deadliest days in the United States since May was too much for Dr. Carlos del Rio, an executive associate dean at the Emory University School of Medicine. “I mean, I feel like the Titanic,” del Rio said on Thursday, the day after those conferences said they would not abandon playing football and other sports in the fall, as the Big Ten and Pac-12 had done earlier in the week. “We have hit the iceberg and we’re trying to make decisions of what time should we have the band play.” (Witz, 8/13)
The Washington Post: NCAA Pulls Plug On All Division I Fall Championships Except For Top-Tier Football
The NCAA officially canceled Division I fall championship events because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. NCAA President Mark Emmert’s announcement Thursday was essentially a formality given the number of conferences that have already postponed fall sports and the board of governors’ requirement that at least 50 percent of schools participate in a season for a championship to be held. The decision includes all fall sports apart from the top-tier Football Bowl Subdivision, which the NCAA does not govern. (Giambalvo, 8/13)
USA Today: Coronavirus: Joe Montana Says He Would Opt Out If Eligible To Play
At least one all-time great said that, knowing what he knows now, he almost certainly would have opted out if he were eligible to play college football. “For me, I think I would’ve gone after the safety of my health first, in the end,” Joe Montana told USA TODAY Sports. “Because we’re not talking about the flu or a cold. This thing is killing people everywhere and not by one or two here and there. We’re talking about hundreds and hundreds a day, thousands.” (Reyes, 8/12)
In basketball and golf news —
USA Today: How Eliminated NBA Teams Are Handling Leaving Safety Of The Disney Campus Bubble
As they gathered in the locker room, Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton had an important message to share with his players. Though they finished with a 136-122 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, the Kings’ season officially ended. But this did not mark the time for self reflection. Nor did it mark the time to share any insight on how to improve next season.Instead, Walton talked to his players about leaving the NBA Disney campus in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak. (Medina, 8/13)
AP: Levy Tests Positive For Coronavirus At Celtic Classic
Alexander Levy became the first golfer to test positive for the coronavirus at a European Tour event and was one of two French players withdrawn on the opening day of the Celtic Classic on Thursday. Levy came into contact last weekend with a friend in France who has since tested positive for the coronavirus, the tour said in a statement. (8/14)
Also —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: More Data Needed To Understand Myocarditis In Athletes, Per Emory Doctor
Myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, is one form of associated cardiac injury that can be linked to COVID-19. The rare heart condition usually occurs because of a viral infection, and according to ESPN, it has been found “in at least five Big Ten Conference athletes and among several other athletes in other conferences,” and has become a major concern in the debate on whether it’s safe for college athletics to take place in the fall. (Spencer, 8/13)
