This was not unexpected, but the speed at which athletes are testing positive for coronavirus is none the less alarming.
Earlier this week, Ezekiel Elliott and two other members of the Dallas Cowboys, as well as four players on the Houston Texans, all tested positive for COVID-19. Elliott and others had not been inside their team locker rooms or training facilities, as those are yet to open under NFL guidelines.
By late Friday, the list of athletes joining Elliott has grown substantially as more reported cases of coronavirus work their way through teams at a terrifying speed.
Earlier Friday, it was reported that there was a coronavirus outbreak at Phillies training camp in Clearwater, Florida, with 8 players and staff testing positive.
BREAKING: Coronavirus outbreak at Phillies camp — 8 positive tests. Story herehttps://t.co/YhBRXdgksX
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) June 19, 2020
A 49ers player working out in Nashville also tested positive.
One of the #49ers players who was working out in Nashville tested positive for Covid, sources tell me and @RapSheet. The rest of the group is getting tested and trying to figure out how and when they can travel. Some guys live there so they’ll just hunker down.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 19, 2020
PGA tour player Nick Watney also tested positive and has withdrawn from the RBC Heritage.
Breaking: a PGA player at the tournament has apparently tested positive for COVID-19.
— Nathan Hubbard (@NathanCHubbard) June 19, 2020
MLB’s Jeff Passan reports that the Toronto Blue Jays shut down camp in Dunedin, Floirda after a player exhibited symptoms.
The Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday shut down their spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., after a player exhibited COVID-19 symptoms, sources tell ESPN.
Dunedin is just up the road from Clearwater, where eight people in the Philadelphia Phillies organization tested positive.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 19, 2020
The Tampa Bay Lightning also shut down the their training facilities, after players tested positive.
The team in question is the Tampa Bay Lightning.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 19, 2020
Finally, the Toronto Sun reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews also has COVID-19.
To state the obvious, that is a lot of players testing positive in a short amount of time and frankly, confirms the worst fears of how easily the virus spreads when people are in close quarters.
In some cases, these athletes haven’t been subjected to strict quarantine protocols while they ease into their return to play plans. For example, Tampa Bay players are allowed to be out and about while also able to practice at their home rink. The outbreaks inside teams also align with rising coronavirus rates throughout the state of Florida, where for the fourth day in a row, the state set a record for new positive cases.
This news is a serious splash of cold water on anyone who thought coronavirus might be a minor disruption as leagues try to get back to playing. It’s clear this is going to be a major hurdle, and that teams need to proceed carefully and even more cautiously than previously thought.
As the Rams’ Sean McVay pointed out, social distancing and playing sports, especially football, is an outright contradiction. There’s no way to protect players when the entire purpose of the game is to push and shove against each other.
So far, there have been no reports of athletes getting seriously sick, but if Friday’s reports are any indication, it’s just a matter of time until someone truly suffers at the hands of this horrible disease.
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