Duke women end their season [merged]

[EdSaid]

We have come a long way with this pandemic. Why stop now? Last night on the news, I saw a stat that if 95% of the U.S. population would wear a mask we could prevent 49,000 deaths between now and April. There is no reason I can think of for some fool not to wear a mask. No one wants to be part of that 49,000. It's been a pain in the neck, but it is doable.

 

[Sifaka]

I agree with the posters complaining of snark
Unseemly.
I can't believe its (all, just) about money.
Duke has plenty of money...Endowment 8.5 Billion
I Imagine it will all be clear in time.

The student-athletes on the Duke women’s basketball team have made the difficult decision to conclude their current season due to safety concerns,” said Michael Schoenfeld, Vice President for Public Affairs & Government Relations and Chief Communications Officer for Duke University.

“We support their decision, as we have supported the choices made by all student-athletes at Duke during this unprecedented time. Duke will maintain our current schedule of competition in other sports and will continue to observe our rigorous health and safety protocols, which include daily testing for all student-athletes and are based on guidance from leading medical experts.”

The men’s basketball team planned to keep playing.

source: Duke women end basketball season amid virus

 

[Brad Palmer]

Although they're on scholarship, they're not paid. At some point, I'd have to imagine that sub .500 teams and/or players that get little or no playing time will tire of the constant testing, limited contact with other students, not being able to go home to see family, starts and stops of practices/games, long road trips, not playing in front of fans, etc...

Loving basketball is one thing, but stepping away from the game at a time like this is also totally understandable.

 

[wbball novice]

If the UConn women decided to stop playing due to covid concerns, I would be disappointed but they'd have my support (for what little it's worth). They would be traveling to Baylor in a state that hasn't had strict protocols & has had a lot of cases recently & there might be other problematic locales as the season unfolds. To have seen even 4 UConn games is a blessing.

 

[Woof 101]

View attachment 62877

Just passing through to check for the snark filled replies....... and the BY never disappoints

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

As a Gastronomer, are you not simply here looking for snark filling recipes? ; ) So little content in The Devils Den? Just kidding, smiley faces not working tonight.
Sorry for a season loss by any team, and was looking forward to how Kara would bring them along.
Merry Christmas to you in a year where many simply can't find merry. Stay positive and persevere.

 

[billybud]

Are the Duke players going to be in a bubble until the pandemic is over? With all the testing and the contact tracing, athletes are safer than the general public.

So the story changes...when UCpnn cancelled football, it was smart..

Snark enough ?

 

[Jasper Husky]

Per CNN: Duke women's basketball cancels rest of 2020-2021 season because of Covid-19 concerns.​

And we actually like Kara despite her duke u affiliation.

We all hope it does not become the trend.

Be safe all

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Should women's basketball pause for six weeks? The forecast worst period of this pandemic? Until Americans can be vaccinated? Then resume?

 

[HopJim]

Should women's basketball pause for six weeks? The forecast worst period of this pandemic? Until Americans can be vaccinated? Then resume?

How long will the vaccination take? 6-9 months or more? If correct, we likely won't be near the goals until the start of next year.

 

[Scoe]

I gotta say I’m disappointed for Duke but not at them. I understand it on a human level, it is a sacrifice being on campus and not seeing your family but you have gotten this far though you owe it to yourself to have the mental fortitude to combat this virus and have a season.

I understand they won’t be very good but wouldn’t you wanna use this opportunity as a first year HC with more practices. Make it a 2 year plan, build a winning culture. As a Giants fan I look at the winning culture Joe Judge has installed and using the pandemic to become even more disciplined team. Yes I understand the NFL is a totally different animal and players get paid and aren’t on a campus. If you can pull this off safely why not you don’t owe it to anybody but yourself, just my opinion on it.

 

[bluedevil]

Duke is a wonderful place so lets recognize that and cut them some slack. They have high standards which went even higher after I left..

 

[baggerbob]

Gotta save face for St Krzysewski.

K lost a couple of early games and said it wasn't safe to play, so now he gets to cancel his season, and save face.

 

[quavik]

"...I live in an Alaska Native village that is in lockdown..."

Off topic, but i lived in AK for 40years (20 of which were in the NW Arctic Borough). Where do you live?

 

[UcMiami]

I am not traveling farther than the grocery store and the post office since the end of August when the rates of infection started rising across the country - why would I be surprised that any team would decide against continuing their season. If they could just play home games that would be great, but traveling all over the country with an ever expanding 'personal bubble' is a tough option even for young people.

So ... no issue for me with any team simply saying 'enough, will wait until next year when we and most of the country have had a chance to be vaccinated.'

 

[veryolddog]

If the programs behave like this, what would the National Championship be worth this year? Perhaps they would put an asterisk by it. I thought about this as this topic was presented . What a crummy year.

 

[BostonBay]

I wonder if ALL the Duke players felt the same way, or was it a majority rule? If a player wanted to continue to play this season, could they transfer right now? I would imagine so. I understand the team decision, but I respect more the choice of the individual student-athlete if they want to continue.

 

[Tonyc]

Is there more to this then we are being let on to? Im not sure there isnt. We need to learn to continue our lives because it doesnt seem this pandemic is going away.

 

[DefenseBB]

#1 We don't know the whole story.
#2 We do know that two Duke WBB program members tested positive (players/coaches/student managers/athletic personnel)
#3 The statement said the "players chose" to opt out. This could be due to seeing a fellow player down, it could be due to the toll mentally, it could be due to many personal feelings, We don't know AND THAT'S OK
#4. Anyone throwing "snark" onto this decision is clearly not paying attention to the pandemic. We don't know the long term ramifications of what a positive test means for these peoples lungs, antibodies and other vital organs-plus the potential exposure to their families, senior administration staff and other teams.
#5, It's Christmas, a time of benevolence and far too many people on this thread are acting with such contempt and disrespect, it saddens me to be associated even on a blog...

I implore everyone to stop hiding behind an avatar and realize we are all people. Understand you have de-humanized your perspective through this anonymity. Think of it like a large cocktail party, don't offend but politely disagree and move on.

Let's try to find the more positive side of sports and think about the players, the coaches, the schools and their lives.

Humbly, sadly and most sincerely submitted,
DefenseBB

 

[Boreifs]

Can UConn protest the Tennessee game in January? I was checking out the their athletic site and they are letting fans in and still selling alcohol...not really much precautions other than "recommendations." If it's like South Dakota, 99% of people say to hell with recommendations especially if they aren't enforced. Lady Vols had thousands at their latest home game..

Tennessee is being ravaged by COVID right now. A good game to cancel.

 

[Wbbfan1]

https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/article248095635.html

Athletes stayed by themselves in single room situations and were not allowed to leave campus to visit with family and friends during the season.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Per CNN: Duke women's basketball cancels rest of 2020-2021 season because of Covid-19 concerns.​

And we actually like Kara despite her duke u affiliation.

We all hope it does not become the trend.

Be safe all

We like Kara in spite of her playing at Tennessee as well.

I believe our appreciation is from her coaching our women (plus Hebard & Ionescu) in 3 v. 3....

 

[The CDR-Ret]

If the programs behave like this, what would the National Championship be worth this year? Perhaps they would put an asterisk by it. I thought about this as this topic was presented . What a crummy year.

I believe the NCAA tournament will be fine, as the top 25 will most likely be playing for a spot in the sweet sixteen as usual.

However, the women NIT which is played at the higher seed's campus may not be viable after the field of 64 are selected, unless the NIT gets teams with losing records to commit to play, or reduce the size of their tournament....

 

[ClifSpliffy]

#1 We don't know the whole story.
#2 We do know that two Duke WBB program members tested positive (players/coaches/student managers/athletic personnel)
#3 The statement said the "players chose" to opt out. This could be due to seeing a fellow player down, it could be due to the toll mentally, it could be due to many personal feelings, We don't know AND THAT'S OK
#4. Anyone throwing "snark" onto this decision is clearly not paying attention to the pandemic. We don't know the long term ramifications of what a positive test means for these peoples lungs, antibodies and other vital organs-plus the potential exposure to their families, senior administration staff and other teams.
#5, It's Christmas, a time of benevolence and far too many people on this thread are acting with such contempt and disrespect, it saddens me to be associated even on a blog...

I implore everyone to stop hiding behind an avatar and realize we are all people. Understand you have de-humanized your perspective through this anonymity. Think of it like a large cocktail party, don't offend but politely disagree and move on.

Let's try to find the more positive side of sports and think about the players, the coaches, the schools and their lives.

Humbly, sadly and most sincerely submitted,
DefenseBB

ok, im confoosed (again).
'#4. Anyone throwing "snark" onto this decision is clearly not paying attention to the pandemic.'
ur avatar message:
'Snark is always appreciated!'
ummmmm, ... pick a lane?

 

[EdSaid]

How many lanes do we have?

 

[BostonBay]

There will be a tournament. There is NO Way they will cancel the season 2 years in a row. Even if they halt play today & choose the Final 4 based on top 4 seeding today and hold the Tournament in April, there will be a National Championship in 2021!