Hartford Courant Editorial Board: "With coronavirus raging, Connecticut needs to shut down football at UConn and the state’s high schools this fall"

[metsfan2323]

Comparing a billion dollar corporation and its capabilities isn't nearly on par with a college program. MLB has money to burn to keep their players safe; and we can see they are off to a stellar start.

It is possible to support the Jay's in Hartford and the idea is shutting down college athletics.

How does money protect anyone from COVID 19? Do you wrap yourself in it? David Price is a multimillionaire and he is hiding in his house.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

You do realize MLB doesn’t have as much “money to burn” as you think that’s why they’re cutting 44 teams from the minors

Compared to "State u"? Do you believe colleges/conferences resources are in par with Major League Baseball? I am asking seriously, not being sarcastic.

 

[billybud]

Compared to "State u"? Do you believe colleges/conferences resources are in par with Major League Baseball? I am asking seriously, not being sarcastic.

Heck....many P5s at least, exceed an average MLB team....even JMU, ECU etc...64 programs have expenses greater than the average MLB $50 million.

In 2019, the average operating income per MLB team was 50.04 million U.S.

Average operating income MLB teams 2005-2019 | Statista

This graph depicts the average operating income per franchise in Major League Baseball from 2005 to 2019.

www.statista.com

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[nelsonmuntz]

It didn't have to be this way. College football could have adjusted its scheduling to just drivable, regional games, which might have had a chance. But college football P5 conference leadership went for the cash grab so here we are.

 

[billybud]

Doesn't have a whit to do with drivable regional games...it has to do with the transmittable corvid virus....

 

[Fairfield_1st]

The kids in that picture above are 1000% right. No sports, no school.

Not stating an opinion, just playing devil's advocate here. There's a difference between school and extra curricular sports. First, schooling is critical and necessary, soccer and football are not, though I personally would have been devastated if high school soccer was cancelled back when I played. Second, if there is an outbreak in an area, it's easier to contain without having kids travelling to other towns to play sports.
It just boils down to keeping contact down to the minimum necessary.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[uconndogs]

I continue to question how much risk the players are taking compared to the alternative. If the season takes place the kids are presumably in a program with regular testing and quarantine protocols. So the risk is managed to some degree. Complete risk mitigation? No.

Without a season the kids are either on campus or elsewhere and I just don't see that group as a whole being particularly diligent at social distancing. In fact, I see just the opposite.

Anyway, I just find that ironic. The universities, conferences and NCAA can't make that argument. But, as a practical matter I do think it unfolds that way.

 

[huskymedic]

Re: CT High School Sports

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Jimdish255]

Everything is so decentralized it really makes this difficult. Has the NCAA drafted guidelines and contingencies for various situations regarding football and named a liason to the Governors of every State to keep them updated? Or is this just an alphabet soup of conferences making stuff up as they go along and trying to push Governors to agree. More concerned about the lack of a single voice here than a newspaper recommendation. As I've said before football is complicated but life outside the bubble for athletes has it's own risks.

 

[gioff2323]

Not stating an opinion, just playing devil's advocate here. There's a difference between school and extra curricular sports. First, schooling is critical and necessary, soccer and football are not, though I personally would have been devastated if high school soccer was cancelled back when I played. Second, if there is an outbreak in an area, it's easier to contain without having kids travelling to other towns to play sports.
It just boils down to keeping contact down to the minimum necessary.

isn’t your argument assuming that every student will be on campus 24/7 and never traveling/commuting? Are we eliminating commuting? What about satellite campuses - no travel to/from them by faculty and admins? Faculty and families all move in to bubble? No campus visits by non-students/faculty/staff?

you can’t hide from a virus.

Now, I don’t see football being played due to lack of social distancing and reactions the like of which we are seeing in MLB. But to think safety on campus will be improved if we don’t play 6 road games seems off base to me.

 

[metsfan2323]

Not stating an opinion, just playing devil's advocate here. There's a difference between school and extra curricular sports. First, schooling is critical and necessary, soccer and football are not, though I personally would have been devastated if high school soccer was cancelled back when I played. Second, if there is an outbreak in an area, it's easier to contain without having kids travelling to other towns to play sports.
It just boils down to keeping contact down to the minimum necessary.

Learning the basics K - 8 is critical, but during a pandemic year why push it? Most of the urgency about opening up schools is so they can serve as a babysitter and parents can get back to work, it has nothing to do with learning at all.

As for high school, did you ever sit back and think about how much you remember from high school? And if you need high school for your SAT scores the diligent student can learn that stuff on their home computer with a small investment in a training program. Going to school to learn a subject is not nearly as critical as it used to be. Name a subject and I can send you 1000 youtube videos covering it.

At the end of the day I don't see how anyone can say with a straight face that outdoor sports are too dangerous but indoor classrooms are safe.

BTW sports teaches discipline, teamwork, leadership, self sacrifice, and physical conditioning.

 

[BlueDogs]

The irony is when UConn has 10,000 kids on campus running back and forth, many coming from out of state, it will 100X worse than100 players keeping in a controlled exposure environment, tested and checked. The contradictions in logic are stunning.

 

[HartfordHank]

I ake the trip from DC to Old Saybrook a couple of times a year. It's not a big chore for me and I'm 68 and driving. I think a 20 year old listening to music or playing video games in a large bus seat seat could survive.

You make the trip without any stops? I am guessing you make at least two, especially if you have traffic. It is when they stop you will have the issue with exposure to others. I agree the trip is not difficuly for the players.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

isn’t your argument assuming that every student will be on campus 24/7 and never traveling/commuting? Are we eliminating commuting? What about satellite campuses - no travel to/from them by faculty and admins? Faculty and families all move in to bubble? No campus visits by non-students/faculty/staff?

you can’t hide from a virus.

Now, I don’t see football being played due to lack of social distancing and reactions the like of which we are seeing in MLB. But to think safety on campus will be improved if we don’t play 6 road games seems off base to me.

I was referring to high school since that's who was pictured, a couple high school kids. College is a whole other beast and your points are valid.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Learning the basics K - 8 is critical, but during a pandemic year why push it? Most of the urgency about opening up schools is so they can serve as a babysitter and parents can get back to work, it has nothing to do with learning at all.

As for high school, did you ever sit back and think about how much you remember from high school? And if you need high school for your SAT scores the diligent student can learn that stuff on their home computer with a small investment in a training program. Going to school to learn a subject is not nearly as critical as it used to be. Name a subject and I can send you 1000 youtube videos covering it.

At the end of the day I don't see how anyone can say with a straight face that outdoor sports are too dangerous but indoor classrooms are safe.

BTW sports teaches discipline, teamwork, leadership, self sacrifice, and physical conditioning.

There's something to be said for in person learning. My son is an honors student, but he says studying in his room is difficult due to all the potential distractions, XBOX and YouTube being a couple. But more importantly, he needs the socialization that school offers. He was just starting to come into his own last year right before the virus hit. Being home really stunted his social growth and he's now battling depression.
If the schools implement it correctly, the kids should be distanced and in masks. If so, I would suggest that is better than kids without masks in a football pile.
In high school, sports do not necessarily teach those things other than maybe conditioning. Plenty of kids in my school played because they were good at a specific sport and did not put any of the effort required to attain those other skills. If you were on varsity, It got you out of gym class back then, so there was that.
I work from home, pandemic or not, and my son will be a junior, so no sitter needed here. I want him to go back mostly for his own sanity and personal development. But the school needs to do it right. Maybe he alternates weeks of being home vs in school, so there's 1/2 the kids in the school at any given time.

 

[BugsyCT]

All it takes is an outbreak on one team (like the Miami Marlins) to jeopardize a whole season, not just for that team but for others on their schedule (especially teams they've already played). That's the reality we're looking at, like it or not.

We might see a fraction of a season at best.

 

[billybud]

If you don't see a season...why see students in the classrooms? Similar risks.

 

[J187Money]

1) I get the argument against college sports - unless you play only schools from NE.
2) The virus is NOT raging in CT - so not sure thy you couldn't play HS sports.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[EASTFLA]

Personally, I don't think it is worth playing. The schedule that will be left is so bad, it isn't worth the risk, shut it down and live for another day. One day this will pass.

 

[huskyrob1]

I don't expect the post to last long before the same stale partisan arguments arise and it gets deep sixed, but people should be aware the call is out there and it will be picked up nationally...


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Who is on the "Hartford Courant Editorial Board"? Or is that a top secret?

 

[huskyrob1]

>>... And it’s why football is a particularly bad idea. That’s not to say soccer shouldn’t take the season off. It should as well.<<

I would think Football is a better idea than men's or women's basketball. It's played and practiced outside for most part with nice breezes constantly changing the air, as opposed to basketball being played and practiced in a closed building be it an arena, hot gymnasium, practice gym, etc. all with loads of surface area. The percentage of individuals infected with Covid 19 while outside walking in the woods is zero.

 

[BugsyCT]

Could spring football be doable?