CAL, STANFORD TO PLAY FOOTBALL IN PANDEMIC AFTER ALL

There isn’t much good you can say about the coronavirus, but I’ll give the disease this much: It a great tool for ripping the BandAid off society’s oozing wounds of hypocrisy.

During the pandemic, the curtains have been pulled back on the duplicity at work in every facet of daily life, from government to health care to religion to the economy to how we value life to — well, you name it.

But nothing has been more exposed than the world of college football.

On Thursday afternoon, the Pac12 reversed its earlier, prudent decision to postpone the fall football season into next spring, in light of the pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans, and all of the associated unknowns.

“The health and safety of our studentathletes and all those connected to Pac12 sports remains our guiding light and number one priority,” said Pac12 CEO Group Chair and University of Oregon President Michael Schill in a statement. “Our CEO Group has taken a measured and thoughtful approach to today’s decision, including extensive consultation with stakeholders on the evolving information and data related to health and safety.”

The conference, like a lemming off the cliff, is following the path of the other Power 5 conferences. It will play a sevengame season beginning in early November.

The SEC, ACC and Big 12 inevitably were going to play football. This month, the Big

Ten reversed its announcement to postpone, a decision that the Pac12 — always a follower, rarely a leader — originally adopted.

And now the Pac12 is drafting the big boys again. Following the leader. Which is, to say, following the almighty dollar.

Never, ever let it be said again that college football players are students first and athletes second. That the game is about teaching integrity. That the health and safety of the student body comes before all else. Those platitudes belong to the olden days, when the BandAid stayed firmly adhered atop the sore, so the hypocrisy could fester.

The Pac12 will tell you that it knows ever so much more now than it did 45 days ago when the conference announced it would postpone the season. And maybe that’s true, because scientists are learning more and more about the disease with every passing week. But, equally true, and something that Pac12 leaders should also know, is how much remains unknown.

The cardiac complications of the disease are very real and still being learned, appearing in young, fit people. As UC Berkeley epidemiologist John Swartzberg, a member of the Pac12 medical advisory board, told me (not speaking on behalf of the board): “What worries me enormously, in general, is we discover something new about this every two to four weeks. What worries me long term, specifically, is the cardiac stuff. There is strong science to show that cardiac involvement is more common than we thought and can occur in young, healthy people.”

The Power 5 conferences like to use the phrase “studentathlete.” Maybe “lab rat” is more appropriate.

While reporting recent coronavirusrelated stories, I was told repeatedly by members of the conference, “We’re not the SEC.” Or “We’re not Ohio State.” Um, sure you are, just without the rabid fans and level of competition.

One of the “gamechangers” in the Pac12’s reversal is an agreement with Quidel Corp. for rapidresults testing, which will allow players to be tested on a daily basis. According to the Mercury News, the conference will spend $330,000 a week for the tests.

“From the beginning of this crisis, our focus has been on following the science, data and counsel of our public health and infectious disease experts,” said Pac12 Commissioner Larry Scott in a statement. “Our agreement with Quidel to provide daily rapidresults testing has been a gamechanger in enabling us to move forward with confidence that we can create a safe environment for our studentathletes while giving them the opportunity to pursue their dreams. At the same time, we will continue to monitor health conditions and data and be ready to adjust as required in the name of the health of all.”

The deal is being presented as a winwin for both the conference and for a company that need mass quantities of datacollection points. How you view that argument probably depends on how many essential workers you know who don’t have access to rapidresult testing. If you fall into that category, or have kids learning at home because widespread testing isn’t available to teachers, you might think this footballenabling is, at the very least, a case of horrible optics.

The Pac12 reversal comes on the same day that cases in the state of Oregon reached their highest level. The day that Boulder County in Colorado issued extreme restrictions on residents between ages 18 and 22, saying members of that age group “anywhere in the city of Boulder may not participate in any gatherings of any size, whether indoors, outdoors, on or off campus, or with individuals of any age.” Those restrictions come as a surge in positive cases has swept the area, many starting in fraternities and sororities.

Consequently, a spokesperson for Colorado athletics said that athletes would halt all workouts and practices for at least two weeks.

When the Big Ten reversed its order, after extensive cajoling and cheerleading by alumni, college football media and the White House, it did so despite surges at campuses. Those included Iowa, where 221 cases were recorded in the athletic department, and Wisconsin, where the campus administration and county health officials continue to feud about the correct course of action.

This week, Notre DameWake Forest — an ACC game scheduled for Saturday — was postponed because of a rash of positive tests at Notre Dame. That is the fourth ACC game and one of 20 college football games already postponed or canceled because of positive tests.

College football doesn’t operate in a bubble. Players are as likely to be at fraternity parties and out socializing as the average student. They don’t get paid for their obviously “essential” work at the university. They don’t have a union protecting their health. They are neither incentivized to follow strict protocol nor offered recourse if they fall ill.

These conference flipflops should give players further incentive to band together and leverage their power, because it is pretty clear what the adults in charge are worried about.

For the decision makers, this is all about keeping up with the competition. About raking in the money. About keeping their fiefdoms afloat.

What it is not about: science, studentathletes, safety, integrity.

Ironic that the disease that requires us all to wear a mask is so very efficient at unmasking hypocrisy.