The Patriots, the NFL and COVID-19

 I wrote this in a column that appeared in August in The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA, about the likelihood of football making it through an entire season:
“It also will be surprising if the NFL, which stuck to its original schedule that includes cross-country trips and a lot of travel, can hold a full season, even without fans. Adding them would be a mistake.”


The situation is fluid, but at this point, with the NFL trying to push on to play its season despite the 20-plus positive COVID-19 tests in Tennessee and the Patriots having traveled to Kansas City for a Monday night game despite the positive test by quarterback Cam Newton two days earlier, it’s not premature to question why the NFL insists on continuing as it is.
It should haven’t been surprising then, that on Wednesday (Oct. 7), Patriots star cornerback Stephon Gilmore also tested positive. That news doesn’t bode well for the season being able to last without numerous interruptions.
Unlike baseball, which limited travel during its 60-day season to regional destinations, and then went into a bubble-like setting for the last three rounds of the playoffs (divisional, league and World Series), NFL players have been traveling cross country.
It’s understandable that football fans miss the sport, but at what cost? Sounds like the NFL is pushing to play because of the millions of dollars at stake in TV revenue.
The view that the NFL is putting profit above player health and safety was reinforced with word on Wednesday that Florida is going to let the Miami Dolphins play with a full house of 65,000 fans later this season. That plan is highly risky and smacks of the arrogance of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who believes his league is above everything else going on --- even a worldwide health emergency.
These developments are further examples of the fallout being felt from our country having no resolve to fight the pandemic.
To allow fans to fill the stadiums to capacity while so many schools and students are struggling to keep up hybrid learning, and while millions of other school and college students have been relegated to remote learning, is highly selfish and irresponsible.

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