Pressure not to play
Lujan Grisham implores state’s universities to postpone fall contact sports like football
It was business as usual Wednesday for the University of New Mexico’s athletic department.
At least, as usual as things can get in the growing wake of COVID-19 and the floundering attempts to control its spread.
Despite a Tuesday letter from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to the boards of regents and administrators of the state’s universities, in which she implored them to indefinitely postpone contact college sports for the fall semester, UNM athletes still gathered Wednesday on the South Campus to lift weights, meet in small groups with coaches and take advantage of well-ventilated areas under the corrugated roof of the Tow Diehm Facility’s shade structure.
Until word comes down from the regents or a universal decision is made by the Mountain West Conference or NCAA, UNM athletic director Eddie Nuñez said Lobo athletes will continue to prepare for a fall season that may never come.
He made it clear Wednesday that it’s not an act of defiance of the state’s highest elected official.
Like her, he said, he’s putting all of his focus into keeping the student-athletes safe at a time when his department announced that six of the 225 tests to date have yielded positive results. Of those, four are athletes. Others came from the coaching and support staffs.
“Let’s all keep in mind that I understand that this is bigger than just the University of New Mexico, this is bigger than the state of New Mexico, this is bigger than all of us,” Nuñez said. “So when we’re making these decisions, any recommendations, guidance that they provide — they do have access to some medical advisers that we don’t, and so any guidance that they can provide will go into this decision. Our intention isn’t to come in here and say we’re going to do something to go against her purposely or anything else. It would be, hopefully, that we have good dialogue, good active conversations that will allow us to get to, hopefully, a place that we all feel comfortable with.”
In its simplest form, Nuñez said the governor doesn’t have the power to halt the sports machine at the state’s colleges and universities. Those decisions are made by the regents, leaders the governor appoints herself. Her letter addressed them specifically with a final sentence that read: “I expect and appreciate your compliance in keeping our communities healthy and safe during the pandemic.”
Nuñez said his department has been in constant contact with Lujan Grisham’s office since the sudden emergence of the novel coronavirus began forcing sports to shut down in mid-March. All spring sports seasons were canceled with football and other fall sports sitting directly in the pandemic’s crosshairs.
Nuñez said the governor’s latest edict “wasn’t unusual, wasn’t surprising.” He said he and his staff have developed several contingency plans in the last four months, some preparing for life without fall sports and others with the optimistic outlook of holding games with limited fan interaction.
Earlier this month, the governor mandated a 14-day quarantine for anyone traveling to New Mexico from out of state. That health order has made life challenging for the state’s lone active professional sports franchise, the New Mexico United soccer team, based in Albuquerque.
The United postponed their scheduled July 29 home opener and are already considering rescheduling a number of other home dates to remain in compliance with the quarantine order. That means at least four straight road games to begin the restart of the United Soccer League season, which ended a three-month hiatus two weeks ago.
United owner Peter Trevisani said Wednesday the team has been able to resume its daily practices despite the appearance that it violates the quarantine procedure, which limits any travel outside a person’s residence to medical or health emergencies. The team has gotten around that by saying the players’ need for remaining in peak physical condition is an example of a potential loophole in the quarantine policy.
Trevisani likened it to the state’s horse-racing industry, which got clearance from state leaders in April to allow trainers to resume workouts with thoroughbred horses to keep them healthy.
“Our players need to receive medical care, training and preemptive medical care and also physical therapy,” he said Wednesday. “There’s a lot of things that go into the weeks that happen between the games.”
He said the governor’s health orders could mean moving all or most of the team’s remaining games out of state. USL rivals in Phoenix, El Paso and Colorado Springs, Colo., have extended initial offers to accommodate the United in training at their sites, but each circumstance is different, Trevisani said.
“We’re very appreciative of that, there’s no question about it,” Trevisani said, adding that the safest place for his players is the self-constructed bubble the team has created for itself in New Mexico.
“I think guys are just trying to make the most of things,” said United player Devon Sandoval. “We kind of have the mindset like this could be our last game.”