Ohio State sports, including football, will not take place this fall due to the Big Ten’s concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. But other sports, contact and non-contact, in the state of Ohio will go ahead and play. Gov. Mike DeWine announced that Tuesday all high school, high school and youth sports can participate this fall.
At his press conference, DeWine said he was talking to parents, athletes, coaches, doctors, health experts about this decision before coming to the conclusion.
“We know, just as personally returning to school increases the risks of proliferation, we know that sports, especially contact sports, they do too,” DeWine said. “It has been said several times, the more dispersal there is in a community and the more dispersal there will be in the school, the higher the risk in the community. And also athletes.
“On the other hand, we all know the importance of sport. We have seen it with our own eyes. Athletics can make a difference … It brings joy to an athlete and also to her family … A young person, if they do not do sports, will do other things with their time, and that should also be kept in mind. “
In addition to DeWine’s announcement, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center sports medicine doctor James Borchers, who played football for the Buckeyes from 1989-93, spoke at the press conference about his finding that athletic events take place during the pandemic.
“Our experiences enabled us to study the effects of COVID and its effects, not on athletics but on sports and on participation,” Borchers said. “And I think probably the first thing we’ve learned is that the community around our athletes is of the utmost importance in enabling our athletes to participate. If we can provide our athletes with a healthy environment and they can have the basic behaviors that ‘ t we are all asked to follow around the virus, which is important for social distance and good hygiene, face masks and following proper procedures in and around sports facilities and to perform athletics, that makes a big difference for us.
“When the community does not have a healthy environment, we see a high infectivity rate. We have found it more difficult and we sometimes struggle to have athletics and organized sports. I think that is probably the most important thing first and foremost.”
Borchers’ statement will likely only frustrate Ohio State fans more. Borchers’ words only seem to reinforce a lot of argument for Buckeye coaches and players that Ohio State facilities are the safest place for student-athletes because they are monitored, tested regularly, and help players stay away. of potential contact with the virus.
While players can still train in the facilities and will probably be able to train in some capacity this fall, there is not the same incentive to stay healthy and sacrifice as there would be during the season.
Borchers also discussed the mental health of athletes without sports, something that coaches Ryan Day also tackled last week. If players who dedicate their lives to their sport have suddenly taken that, the results can be alarming.
“I think the second thing we knew, and I think everyone knew, is just how important athletics and sports are to our mental health and well-being and how important it is to work together to make sports happen,” Borchers sei.
While the Big Ten has not disclosed its specific reasoning for choosing bankruptcy sports, it is believed that concerns about myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that is normally a result of a viral infection was an important factor.
While Borchers acknowledged the risks and unknown myocarditis of COVID-19, he does not see it as a reason not to play sports and the focus should be on preventing the spread of the virus to athletes instead.
“Sudden cardiac death in athletics is a tragic event. Fortunately, it is a very rare event,” Borchers said. “It’s not something that’s common, but something that we all hear some reports and really need vigilance for preparation. That all of our great athletic trainers around the state of Ohio who provide excellent emergency care are using CPR training. of the automated external defibrillator These are truly the ways to save lives.That our preparation is even more than our screening.
“(It) highlights the need for prevention and healthy communities and instead of worrying about what we do when that happens, which is a rare event. How can we prevent it from happening.”
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Ohio State fans will find it difficult to understand why children will participate in contact and non-contact sports at all levels this fall, but 18-22-year-olds have been told they can not make a decision on whether to the risk and play.
While the Big Ten should consider more than just Ohio, the conference addresses 11 states with different rules and factors to consider, today’s decision by DeWine and Borchers’ comments further underscore that the Big Ten acted too quickly to cancel sports.
