NCAA medical advisors paint bleak picture of playing sports amid coronavirus

We all know the tragic story of the Titanic. The un-sinkable ship that sank. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time, and there’s just so many scenes that pull on your heartstrings.

Well, NCAA COVID-19 advisor and infectious disease specialist Dr. Carlos del Rio feels like the NCAA is the Titanic and they have just hit the iceberg and are “trying to make a decision for what time the band should play.”

It’s certainly a tough decision to make when it comes to fall sports for student-athletes and their safety. Reported earlier in the week, we have seen cases of post-coronavirus heart issues in some Power 5 student-athletes, and if untreated, can have damaging effects on their long-term health.

To take it a step further, Dr. Colleen Craft, Associate Chief Medical Officer at Emory Hospital said that universities are “playing with fire” trying to have fall sports, and specifically mentioned Myocarditis.

Dr. Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief medical officer, joined CNN on Saturday night to talk about the possibility of college sports amid the coronavirus, and he didn’t hold back on how bleak things currently look.

“The pathway to play sports is so exceedingly narrow right now,” Hainline said on CNN, via Chris Vannini of The Athletic. “Everything would have to line up perfectly.”

“Right now, if testing in the US stays the way it is, there’s no way we can go forward with sports,” Hainline said via Stewart Mandel of The Athletic. “We’re not in a place today where we can safely play sports.”

We did get some good news yesterday that there’s now a saliva-based coronavirus test that could be a game-changer for sports. One of the biggest keys to having full sports seasons is quicker and more interoffice testing, something this new test provides.

Still, the dangers of the coronavirus will remain until there’s a vaccine.