The college football season is in jeopardy of being canceled this year. The supposed justification is that this must be done out of an abundance of caution. In fact, it would be both irrational and irresponsible not to play, given the extremely low risks involved and the great benefit that college sports confer on everyone.
All major American sports have made their return in one form or another. While we recognize that there is a difference between professional and collegiate athletics, college football players across the nation have made it very clear they want to play — and we do not believe anyone should be forced to play. This question should be deferred to those who have the most skin, so to speak, in the game.
University and athletic conference administrators are misidentifying the risks of playing college football. Several schools are asking players to return to campus already, along with thousands of other nonathlete students. Others are keeping them home, where the risk of contracting and spreading the virus is similar to or greater than it would be on campus.
Athletes have seen what we have all seen. Data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention shows that a grand total of 225 people between the ages of 15 and 24 have died from the coronavirus — less than 0.2% of total COVID deaths. Every death is a tragedy, but the best way to prevent deaths, especially when the risk is that low, is to prevent infection. Jim Harbaugh and the University of Michigan have already shown by example that college football programs can do that effectively.
So long as college football programs are following basic safety protocols, the safest place for college athletes will surely be with their teams. They will have better access to virus tests and will be more likely to self-police their social distancing habits with their team as a support system. The role of brotherhood in a college football locker room should not be underestimated in athletes’ decision-making processes.
Meanwhile, the adverse effects of canceling the season over the players’ objections can’t be overstated. Football provides players with an outlet. Without it, they and their fans will suffer heightened anxiety and depression. For others, such as Mississippi State’s Kylin Hill, returning home to violent neighborhoods presents its own risks, arguably greater than the minuscule risk that he would die or be permanently harmed by the coronavirus.
Without college football, players could also lose their shot at a professional career, costing them millions of dollars in potential future earnings. Athletes in other sports could lose their collegiate careers as well, as college football tends to fund sports that bring in little or no revenue.
We trust college football players when they say they want to play, and we trust the protocols many football programs have already put in place based on the guidance of health professionals. The fear from timorous university administrators is misplaced. A proper examination of the facts makes it clear that college football should be played in 2020.
