‘Times are a-changin’ and the NFL season is looking more uncertain due to COVID-19

Let’s assume the NFL season is played despite serious concerns posed Thursday by venerable immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci, who suggested the 32-team league should borrow a page from the NBA playbook and consider playing the season within a “bubble.’‘

The NFL acknowledges it will have to deal with the constant threat of COVID-19 and likelihood of players and coaches becoming infected but deems the “bubble approach” is “not practical or appropriate.”

With that in mind, will teams be transparent on their weekly injury reports and identify those players who test positive for coronavirus? Or will players be shielded by the HIPAA Compliance Program and not be individually identified?

Using the New Orleans Saints as an example, what if those infected players happen to be key starters such as quarterback Drew Brees, cornerback Marshon Lattimore or wide receiver Michael Thomas?

Or the team’s leading scorer, kicker Wil Lutz?

What if Saints coach Sean Payton tests positive a second time? Will he, for example, be able to coach from home on game day with the help of technology?

Shouldn’t bettors, fans and general citizenry have the right to know the names of those players who test positive for coronavirus? Don’t we all have a stake in this? When does contact tracing come into play?

Just asking.

The past week has been especially moving for me.

Last Sunday, along with my wife and our youngest daughter, I attended a peaceful rally at Congo Square in downtown New Orleans in the wake of recent alleged murders of two black men, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, by white police officers in Minneapolis and Atlanta.

The music, interfaith, prayer-driven vigil reminded me of the iconic anthem of change for civil rights and anti-war movements in the 1960s, “The Times They Are A Changin’,” by singer/songwriter by Bob Dylan. Here is the third verse to the song:

“Come senators, congressman

Please heed the call

Don’t stand in the doorway

Don’t block up the hall

For he that gets hurt

Will be he who has stalled

The battle outside ragin’

Will soon shake your windows

And rattle your walls ...

The Times They Are-a Changin’.”

On Tuesday and Thursday, as a non-faculty assistant baseball coach at Ben Franklin High School I helped usher in the “soft” return of our summer program. Under the guidance of school trainers, our student/athletes experienced the various mandated coronavirus protocols before, during and after practice in accordance with school, city, state and federal guidelines (masks, temperatures, social distancing, no sharing of equipment, sanitizing, etc.).

Indeed, the times they are-a changing.

Until the past week, I truly believed the NFL would be able to play games in 2020, beginning with the start of training camps in late July.

I’m still leaning in that direction but feel less confident day by day.

I’m waffling because of comments made by Dr. Fauci after recent spikes in coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations around the country, including states where NFL teams call home, most notably, Texas, Florida, California, Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina.

Fauci is not an alarmist. He’s merely trying to sound an alarm. He’s not masquerading as a liberal mouthpiece, or out to sabotage President Donald Trump’s re-election bid, or trying to feather his nest as some conspiracy theories suggest.

“Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall,’‘ Fauci told CNN. “If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.”

The NFL has been clear where it stands on the bubble approach, saying it does not suit their purposes.

“Make no mistake, this is no easy task,” said NFL Chief Medical Officer Allen Sills. “We will make adjustments as necessary to meet the public health environment as we prepare to play the 2020 season as scheduled with increased protocols and safety measures for all players, personnel and attendees. We will be flexible and adaptable in this environment to adjust to the virus as needed.”

This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 5:09 PM.