Sports Teams Look For Answers
A NFL coach tests positive, and a few college players threaten to boycott games. But there is some good news: Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints quarterback, has stopped licking his fingers.
CNN:
Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson Tests Positive For Covid-19
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has tested positive for Covid-19, the team announced in a statement Sunday. Pederson is "asymptomatic and doing well," the Eagles' statement read. He is in self-quarantine and in communication with the team's medical staff. (Vera and Dotson, 8/3)
The Washington Post:
Pac-12 Football Players Threaten To Boycott Season If Their Demands Are Not Met
A large group of Pac-12 football players threatened to boycott fall practices and games if a list of demands related to safety, racial justice and compensation are not guaranteed by the conference. The players announced the unprecedented push for college athlete rights with a unified statement Sunday morning, and numerous players tweeted their support of the group’s mission. The Pac-12 players asked for the conference to enforce safety standards as teams return to play amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. After the death of George Floyd and a summer of unrest, the players want the Pac-12 to commit to addressing social issues such as racial injustice and grant players more economic freedom through revenue sharing and the ability to profit off their names, images and likenesses. (Giambalvo, Klemko and Strauss, 8/2)
The Washington Post:
Drew Brees Says He Has Licked His Annoying Habit Of Licking His Fingers
One of the most noticeable things about Drew Brees, aside from all the passing yardage and the touchdowns and the wins, is his nagging practice of licking his fingers again and again and again while he’s on the field. Now, with the world in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, the New Orleans Saints quarterback has decided it is time to kick the habit. “Believe it or not, I am telling you, I haven’t licked my fingers in four months,” Brees told reporters Saturday. (Boren, 8/2)
Kaiser Health News:
Forced Sports Timeout Puts Squeeze On College Coffers, Scholarships And Towns
On college football Saturdays, tiny Clemson, South Carolina (pop. 17,000), turns into a city of 150,000 when fanatics pour into downtown and swarm Memorial Stadium, home of the Tigers. Some don’t even have a ticket to the game, but they come with money to burn. “It’s well north of $2 million in economic impact per game,” said Susan Cohen, president of the Clemson Area Chamber of Commerce. Hotels sell out rooms at $400 a night; some shops bring in 50% of their year’s revenue during the seven home-game weekends. Add in massive broadcasting contracts and apparel deals that enrich schools directly, and there are hundreds of millions of reasons that universities with large athletic departments and the towns they occupy don’t want to lose even one season to COVID-19. (Kreidler, 8/3)
In baseball and basketball news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Changes Coming To Baseball’s Health Protocols After Coronavirus Outbreaks
At least one of the changes ... is designed to bolster MLB’s contact tracing efforts to determine whether someone has potentially been exposed to the virus. To this point, baseball has used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition of “close contact”: being within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes. Anyone discovered to have met that standard must take an expedited diagnostic test and self-quarantine while awaiting the results, among other preventive measures. Baseball now considers that to be insufficient after seeing it in action and will be stricter in figuring out who else should be quarantined and monitored if someone tests positive. (Diamond, 8/2)
The Washington Post:
Eduardo Rodriguez Won’t Pitch Because Of Heart Ailment Linked To Covid-19
Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez described his experience with covid-19 as feeling “like I was 100 years old.” Now, the 27-year-old left-hander will miss the 2020 season while recovering from a heart issue related to the illness. Rodriguez, who tested positive for the coronavirus July 7, was ready to return July 18, but, five days later, an MRI revealed what turned out to be myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart that has been shown to be a complication of a virus that can affect the kidneys and heart as well as the lungs. (Boren, 8/2)
AP:
Marlins End Isolation In Philly And Leave For Baltimore
The nightmarish first stop of the season for the Miami Marlins finally ended Sunday. The Marlins left Philadelphia, where they were stranded in isolation for a week after their season-opening series because of a coronavirus outbreak that sidelined half of the team. (8/2)
AP:
The Latest: Duke Says 25 Returning Athletes Test Positive
Duke says that 25 athletes have tested positive for the coronavirus over the past three weeks as they began returning to campus for voluntary practice, with nine in mandatory isolation. The school announced the results Friday night following a total of 700 tests being administered to 309 athletes, coaches and staff. Sixteen athletes tested positive, but have gone through a required isolation period and have been cleared by physicians to return to regular activities. (7/31)
