Sports will begin to return during the next month, but the truth is that, as a country, we have not earned the right to recover them.
As proof, you should look no further than the continued arrogant demeanor of one of sports’ leading icons: Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr.
As the coronavirus continues to spread in the United States and cases continue to increase in Florida, Arizona, South Carolina, and California, Brady continues to ignore the NFL doctors’ recommendations to avoid group training to limit the risk of potential spread.
To be fair to Brady, he’s far from the only NFL athlete to have ignored the guidelines on social distancing, wearing of masks, and limited travel established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since the coronavirus exploded in the United States. United in March. Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers were doing group practice in San Jose, against regulations, and again when they flew to Tennessee for more fun at Camp Garoppolo. Then, a member of the 49ers tested positive for COVID-19 and the NFLPA, Dr. Thom Mayer advised players to avoid group practice the day after.
Brady, the NFL star star and arguably the best quarterback in history, has ignored that request and continued to organize unauthorized training, even when cases in Florida skyrocketed over the past week. Brady seemed to respond to critics of his decision to ignore the caution with a few photos in his Instagram story this week.
The first, published on Tuesday, had the subtitle “No excuses”.
The NFLPA advised players to stop group practice in light of recent spikes in COVID-19 testing positive. Tom Brady still had a group of Bucs players working today. His Instagram: “No excuses”. pic.twitter.com/RUOr6LKhyq
– Greg Auman (@gregauman) June 23, 2020
The second, released Thursday, featured a quote from former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “The only thing we need to fear is fear itself.”
Another quote on Instagram by Tom Brady, again practicing with Bucs teammates in Tampa today after the NFLPA medical director advised players not to practice in groups: pic.twitter.com/2wqVT7hN8c
– Greg Auman (@gregauman) June 25, 2020
Roosevelt uttered that phrase during his 1933 inaugural address in reference to the Great Depression, which had fundamentally altered American life, as well as the pandemic. Some might portray Brady, someone with a questionable record when it comes to science, as a fool to ignore the guidelines and continue working. Others, probably those who have decided that wearing a mask is equivalent to torture, see it without fear.
It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you land on, but Brady’s and many others’ refusals to follow simple guidelines for the health and safety of themselves and others illustrate the biggest problem sports face when trying to return in the midst of a increasing public health crisis And why we have not earned the right as a society to return yet.
You simply cannot expect professional athletes to follow the guidelines. You must set firm rules, punished for consequences if they are not followed.
Of course, Brady is not afraid that a virus has infected more than 2 million Americans and killed more than 120,000. No obstacle is too big from Brady’s perspective. In his eyes, he has simply outdone and groomed everyone else.
Brady is also rich beyond his wildest dreams and is considered the best quarterback ever to have played the game. He lives a privileged existence, and people like him often don’t believe that things like a virus can touch his world. They do not think of asymptomatic carriers or potentially transmit the virus to others. There is no need to follow guidelines. They are simply immune. Why wouldn’t they be?
It is a special breed of American exceptionalism to believe that you cannot be affected by things that are normally reserved for evening news clips from distant countries. It is that same exceptionalism that causes people across the country to fight for pleas and even ordinances to wear masks, and which caused some to storm government buildings demanding an end to coronavirus restrictions.
Why? Because damn, we want our haircuts and we want them now! This is the United States, and our way of life cannot be affected by something as trivial as the first world pandemic in a century.
If there are no concrete rules with firm consequences for breaking them, things will not change or improve. The return of sports will falter if it is largely based on the thought that players will do the right thing if asked and not required.
It’s the same problem the PGA Tour started bumping into in the third week of its restart. Commissioner Jay Monahan set loose guidelines, encouraging players (note these are professional golfers) to distance themselves socially on the course, avoid handshakes, not go out to eat, and use the Tour’s exercise trailer instead of gyms. external. While top players Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, and Bubba Watson have taken the virus as seriously as possible, during the first week some players were reported to have ignored some or all of the guidelines.
The PGA “bubble” was as strong as the players’ ability to follow the recommendations. Not surprisingly, several professional golfers, some of whom have grown up in a country club environment, have ignored the rules and chosen to do whatever they want. The PGA had its first positive test last week and two more followed this week. Some players, including Koepka, withdrew this week because someone close to them tested positive.
Monahan offered stricter guidelines this week before the Travelers Championship, but they were still only guidelines. Those can and will be ignored by some golfers used to having their way.
[[[[RELATED: Kap, others who did not vote in 2016 must do so now]This brings us back to the Brady, Garoppolo, and NFL guidelines for preparing for a season they hope will sound normal, even though there is almost no way for a “normal” season to occur in the midst of the pandemic.
Brady should not be scorned for the desire to exercise and prepare. It is ingrained in their DNA, as it is ingrained in many Americans who believe that the economy should get back to work as soon as possible, damn the virus. The myth of American exceptionalism teaches that we must persevere through all obstacles and that glory, wealth, or whatever you desire will be there through trials and tribulations.
And so, with only guidelines on their way, Brady, Garoppolo, and the rest have moved on, working with their teammates to develop the chemistry, timing, and study playbook for the battles ahead. Many of us have cheered, we commend your commitment to your team in these difficult times.
But there is no playbook for playing sports during a pandemic. Brady is a master at dissecting bombardment, elevating those around him, and delivering the clutch. Now you can do those things wearing a mask, social distancing and setting a good example, as someone with a great platform, of the best way to act during a massive public health crisis. Brady, like it or not, can set the course for how his fellow players, the NFL, and Americans in general behave as the crisis continues.
Everyone yearns for normality. Sports will attempt to resurface next month, with the NBA and MLS playing in Orlando, the NHL using core cities and the MLB limiting travel by region.
The NFL will come later. He tries to do things his way, play a normal schedule and cross his fingers hoping that everything will go according to plan. But if the NFL really wants a season, strict rules must be set and followed. The guidelines will be dismissed as nothing more than an inconvenience, and that can only lead to an outbreak and stoppage of the game.
We all want sports to come back. But until every American takes the situation seriously, including Brady, we haven’t earned the right to get them back. The sporting comeback should be a celebration after uniting to eliminate the spread of a deadly virus. Instead, we are still discussing whether you need to use a mask and when the bars can be opened.
Brady is not alone, he’s just the poster boy for a sad truth: We don’t deserve sports to come back.
