Should the NFL be holding a draft in the middle of a pandemic?

I’m trying to do my part to slow the spread of COVID-19.

I wear a mask inside my neighborhood grocery. Wash my hands every chance I get. Keep a safe distance from family, friends and strangers, believing it’s better to be six feet apart than six feet under. I stay at home until the walls start closing in, then head to a safe place to chill.

Why everyone can’t follow these simple precautions is beyond me.

That said, I’m in favor of the NFL draft going on as scheduled April 23-24-25, as long as everyone involved in the annual selection process practices the recommended safeguards put in place by health officials and government leaders to confront the deadly pandemic.

Some observers believe the draft should be delayed, most notably a caucus of NFL general managers (among them Mickey Loomis of the New Orleans Saints), who question the logistics of a fully virtual draft being conducted by team personnel separately in their homes.

ESPN Insider Adam Schefter went a step farther, questioning the need to conduct the draft while there is “carnage in the streets.’‘

I get it. On paper, it seems tone-deaf on the part of this multi-billion dollar sports business. The optics, indeed, are bad. The draft comes at a time when hundreds of our citizens are dying on a daily basis and thousands more are contracting the virus.

New Orleans and the state of Louisiana remain a hotspot.

With this in mind, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is doing everything it can to ensure the safety of essential league and team officials, draft picks and TV people.

Let’s hope it’s enough. The last thing anyone wants is to speed the spread.

My 95-year-old mother in Indiana echoed the sentiment shared by Loomis and Schefter. She, too wonders, why the draft can’t be delayed.

My mom was born in 1925, after the deadly 1918 flu pandemic and before the Great Depression in 1930. She doesn’t stay up with current affairs. certainly doesn’t follow the daily pandemic news or the NFL draft. She has macular degeneration, listens to audio books, does crossword puzzles with the help of caregivers and talks to family members on a white princess phone.

Long story short, my mom already is sheltered-in-place, living a sedentary lifestyle and it has nothing to do with COVID-19.

“Can’t they hold the draft at a later date?’‘ she asked.

“They could but they won’t,’‘ I replied. “Fans come to expect it. It’s a big deal. The show must go on. Plus, it will help take people’s mind off things.’‘

Right or wrong, the bottom line is the NFL will be open for three days of business, come hell or coronavirus.

This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 9:42 AM.