Dr. Fauci Believes NFL May Need to Employ NBA-Like Bubble to Have a 2020 Season
By Scott Rogust
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed his utmost confidence in the league's ability to commence the 2020 season on time. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is telling the commish to pump the brakes on that idea.
While speaking with CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Fauci stated that football may not happen this year if the NFL doesn't implement a bubble plan, similar to what the NBA is utilizing at Walt Disney World later this summer. This is troubling, to say the least.
Dr. Fauci told @drsanjaygupta that "football may not happen this year."
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) June 18, 2020
“Unless players are essentially in a bubble, insulated from the community & they're tested nearly every day, it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall.”pic.twitter.com/GfiRBIwk5w
Fauci has stressed from the get-go that a second wave of the coronavirus is possible this fall, and could be further complicated by "the predictable flu season." Last month, Fauci said that football is "the perfect setup" for a spread of COVID-19, considering it's a highly physical and close contact sport.
Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer, said that the bubble plan is a non-starter and not practical. Sills stresses that players will be regularly screened and if they test positive for the coronavirus, they will be isolated from their team until medically cleared.
Dr. Fauci believes the NFL will have to do something similar to the NBA if they're looking to play this season. ? pic.twitter.com/XEkLex8BWv
— theScore (@theScore) June 18, 2020
The NFL has had a recent surge in positive cases of COVID-19 this past week, including several members of the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, and Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson. Despite the recent positive tests, the NFL expects training camp, preseason, and the regular season to go on as scheduled.
Even with the league's confidence in being able to control a possible outbreak of the virus, Dr. Fauci doesn't think a football season is feasible under the league's current plan.