While the WNBA might fall behind in terms of money or television notoriety, it showed last night that it is not far behind when it comes to being a callous fool (yes, I’m from Chicago. Why are you asking?) The panel of league doctors denied two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne’s request to be excused from the WNBA bubble season for medical reasons, and therefore will have to play where she doesn’t want to or have to sit down without pay.
You are not allowed to appeal the decision.
Della Donne had Lyme disease, which the CDC does not list as an underlying condition that increases the risk of someone getting COVID-19. But that shouldn’t be the question. The point should be that if any player doesn’t feel safe, they should be allowed to choose not to participate. Or not. Major League Baseball is not asking players to “qualify” for a voluntary exclusion. Neither is the NBA. Nor is it the NHL. Neither does the WNBA soccer counterpart, the NWSL. The latter, which is not on as stable ground as the WNBA in financial terms, is also paying players who choose not to participate for any reason.
Sure, some of those who chose not to participate are American internationals who are paid by US Soccer, but the point remains. Considering that the MLS, the first league to attempt this bubble formula in Florida, has been a complete disaster, it seems that any concern by WNBA players about playing in theirs would be entirely valid.
It just seems to be cheap. The WNBA doesn’t want to have to pay a lot of players to keep them from playing, so it will make them jump through the hoop (sorry). Delle Donne says her personal doctor, who did not appear to have a dog in the fight, had advised her not to play. The league-appointed board of doctors says otherwise. That smells AND smells bad.
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And Delle Donne is not citing Lyme disease that you and I know, tick-borne. Della Donne says she has chronic Lyme disease. It is possible that what you really have is Post-Treatment Lyme Disease (PTLDS), which is what can persist in up to 20 percent of Lyme disease victims after the original disease treatment is completed .
“They are discriminating against her,” said Pat Smith, president of the nonprofit National Lyme Disease Association, Inc..
“If you have chronic Lyme disease, you are immunocompromised since your system is busy fighting off the effects of Lyme and perhaps other tick-borne diseases,” said Smith.
Smith’s organization has been fighting the government for decades not to recognize Lyme disease as a chronic disease.
“Than [the WNBA is] doing to [Delle Donne] It’s very bad, “added Smith, who said he was angry when he saw that Delle Donne’s request had been denied.
The Project Lyme group released a statement to Deadspin from two of its board members, Jennifer Weis and Kim Dickstein, on the matter:
No one knows for sure the risk profile for developing more serious COVID-19 in someone who has chronic Lyme disease. Studies have suggested that persistent symptoms of Lyme disease may be due to a malfunction of the immune system caused by the original infection. According to CDC’s own admission, there is currently limited data and information on the impact of underlying medical conditions and whether they increase the risk of serious illness from COVID-19 (CDC includes immunocompromised states in its list of underlying diseases that may increase the risk). In the absence of such knowledge, Elena Delle Donne and the WNBA would be best to follow the guidance of her personal physician.Especially since there is no Lyme expert on the organization’s review panel.
It is still unknown what exactly causes PTLDS. Some have said It is because antibiotic treatments do not completely eradicate the bacteria, although that has little evidence. Others say it is due to a weakening of the immune system, although again inconclusive. But if there is even a hint that it could be the latter, as Smith argues, why would the WNBA ask Delle Donne to take a risk or run out of her salary?
Some of the long-term effects of PTLDS closely resemble what little we know about the effects of COVID-19, such as joint inflammation and neurological symptoms. Even if you don’t make Delle Donne more susceptible to the coronavirus, it’s easy enough to understand his reluctance to duplicate some of these things simply to play a season of basketball in the Port of Hell known as Florida.
And also, it’s been fairly well documented that we know very little about the long-term effects of COVID-19. It was only last week, after the pandemic had been with us for more than four months, that British researchers released a report linking disease to brain damage. Why should someone take a risk?
Perhaps what the WNBA board is using is Delle Donne’s choice of labels, as she says she has “chronic” Lyme disease. That condition is not yet universally accepted in the medical community as real, despite protests from Smith and others. Some believe it is a general problem for when other diagnoses cannot be found.
But that is generally reserved for those who have never been bitten by a tick or have had the usual bull’s-eye rash or have had an official test and diagnosis. Delle Donne was positively diagnosed with Lyme disease in high school after being bitten on her family’s property. Continuous symptoms after treatment of the disease. have been documented.
It appears that the WNBA, or its medical board, adheres exclusively to CDC guidelines for Lyme disease. Which again, probably isn’t the point. The point feels like saving on salary. And if Delle Donne’s $ 215K is that big, the WNBA has bigger problems.
Additional reporting by Eric Barrow
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