Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo MESPORTS SOUTH
Follow her on Twitter @Misskyus2011
SANTA CLARA, Calif– What another typical 2020 Wednesday waking up to no definitive winner in our presidential election but of course COVID strikes again in the NFL. Just 24 hours before the Green Bay Packers are to take on the Niners in the Week 9 edition of Thursday night football San Francisco has been forced to shut down its facilities due to Niners, wide receiver, Kendrick Bourne testing positive COVID-19 on Wednesday morning.
The Niners released the following statement, “The San Francisco 49ers were informed today that a player has tested positive for COVID-19 and the individual immediately went into self-quarantine. Our organization has entered the NFL’s intensive protocol and we are working with the league on contact tracing to identify high-risk individuals.”
As of now, all team activities will be done virtually and the game is still scheduled to be played Thursday evening pending further information from contacting and tracing.
The Niners further affirmed in their statement the health and safety of players, staff, and organizations are a top priority. They continue to work closely with NFL and medical professionals to see what the best plan of action will be heading into the next 24 hours.
So once again things are in Limbo for yet another NFL franchise. The 49ers are coming off a Sunday loss to Seattle. As for the Packers, they were scheduled to fly to the Bay Area late Wednesday afternoon but for now, that is on standby.
The loss of Bourne will hit the Niners offense even more as they remain plagued by the injuries of Deebo Samuel, Dante Pettis, and Richie James. So if they in fact get to play their Thursday slated game they will need to come up with one heck of an elixir to cure this COVID strike. As for the Packers, they too have been hit by the wrath of COVID. They will be without their running back AJ Dillion who came up with a positive for COVID on Monday. They will also be forced to be without LB, Kamal Maring, and RB, Jamaal Williams due to close contact with Dillon. As per league rules, they are not eligible since they are considered “high-risk close contacts.”
I have had quite a few folks ask my take about should the season continue as we see surges begin? This is a tough subject no matter how you put it but here’s my take. Yes, I believe the season should continue as long as the league continues to put the resources and health and safety of the teams at the forefront. I have been through these protocols myself and I can say if anyone can afford to make sure to keep this environment safe it is the NFL. I think shutting down the league for a low number of cases spread out through teams is not the way to go. I mean we have college kids playing right now and following protocol and things seem to remain fairly low even down to HS. But again its all a matter of perspective. Unless we see a significant surge start plaguing teams in bulk then of course it’s time to reevaluate the protocol and health and safety of continuing on. But the league has already managed to come nearly 10 weeks in operation and kept things down to a minimum to shut it down now for sporadic cases would be counterproductive. Not because I want football but think about it for a minute.
The NFL continuing its season is more than just having football to watch. Rather it’s about providing people even beyond teams of just players and coaches opportunity for work and access to benefits they would otherwise not have if the season were put on the stall.
Sure contracts of players, coaches, and executives are honored no matter what. But think about all those people that make it possible for us to have gameday and beyond. Those are the hard-working Americans that have built this game. So we’re in the final quarter of 2020 I say finish what we start!