One thing that Americans can agree on is their love for sports. Although, COVID-19 has successfully done sports a “thing of the past” for the year 2020. As a country, America cannot come to an agreement on the best course of action for getting sports back in action.
On one side of the argument is the safety concern. Reports indicate that more than 116,000 Americans have died from the COVID-19 virus. After reading that number and knowing how easily COVID-19 is spread, it may seem like sports won’t be returning for a while.
However, America watches on as other countries are slowly reintroducing sports back into daily life. Tennis matches are airing with no fans in the stands. This poses the questions for athletes and spectators alike if the game is worth it without the fans? It is certainly not the same experience for athletes. Fans that used to pride themselves on attending every match or game are now being forced to watch from the safety of their home.
Another obvious concern is the revenue made from sporting events in the United States. President Trump said as early as Mid-April that sports had to make a comeback. The hope is that professional sports will slowly make a comeback, and this will influence college and then high school level sports to be able to return to normal.
Although what will normal look like? It is not easy to encourage a team of players to social distance during a game. In fact, experts are concerned with photos online of high school sporting events where parents are required to social distance, but players are not social distancing on the sidelines. These types of prevention measures do not work unless everyone participates. For example, if Sally’s parents are social distancing in the stands, but she is too close to a teammate who is asymptomatic but has COVID-19, Sally could easily contract COVID-19 and give it to her parents.
In the end, the risk is still outweighing the reward at this point in time. Until America reaches a drop in cases as significant as other countries who have brought sports back, sports are likely to remain on pause. It is for the safety of the athletes and spectators alike.