The Early Camp “Outbreak”
Jay Strack
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This past weekend got rather dicey for a league that is still trying to find its way through this coronavirus infected reality. The National Football League made headlines on Sunday when Schefter reported a single testing site in New Jersey was responsible for an alarming amount of positive COVID-19 tests.
Unfortunately, the bad news did not stop there. Two hours later Adam Schefter announced several other teams received positive testing results. A collection of 77 players, coaches, and staff members from around the league were presumed to have tested positive. A fraction of those individuals came from the Minnesota Vikings.
As the summer dwindles, Minnesota Viking fans, along with the rest of the league were left extremely surprised following the results. Especially when the early stages of training camp did not herald any positive tests.
Just as quickly as panic spread throughout the league, a sigh of relief came from each front office when all the positive tests were flagged for potentially being false-positives. It was confirmed two days later that all 77 of the reported false-positives were actually negative.
Trying to imagine the wraith the NFL had for this lone testing facility is frightening. All players that were subject to the false readings were not able to practice. Considering the shortened length of training camp this year, it will be difficult to make up for those missed reps.
What will the NFL do if this keeps happening? Many, including myself, are left wondering. It is difficult to envision a world where the stars of the NFL are locked in their homes because of a false reading. When stars don’t play the league loses money. Roger Goodell will do everything in his power to continue making money for himself and the NFL. It is his job to get the world’s brightest stars on the field every Sunday. Finding ways to do that in a pandemic may prove difficult.
Imagine a scenario where Patrick Mahomes wakes up on a Sunday, (wallet full of cash) drives to the stadium and then gets screened for COVID-19. Later that day the test comes back positive, and he has to sit out a huge Sunday Night Football game. I am willing to assume that the Chiefs are going to do everything in their power to get number 15 on that field.
It is an uncertain time and the only reason I pose so many questions is that there has not been a ton of answers from the NFL. From my point of view, it seems it will be more of a “wait and see” approach.
One of the big takeaways from this story and the recent testing mishap is a loss of credibility on their part. What will the common fan expect when they see the next positive COVID-19 test? Skepticism will follow each and every positive test, so the NFL still needs to find a way to buff these problems out before the season starts.
The safety of players and staff needs to paramount the business side of the league. I am fascinated by how the league will handle this. As for now, things are back on track. The guys are getting back on the field and kickoff weekend is nearly upon us. From here on out the mantra needs to be “staying positive, and testing negative.”