NFL: Bryant protocols followed
The NF L’ s medical director says all procedures followed before the Ravens’ game Tuesday night when receiver DezBryantt es ted positive for COVID-19 were done properly and in the same manner as for every case.
Bryant had an inconclusive test result after he was active for the game. He was removed from the field during warmups and tested again. The league and the Ravens then conducted contact tracing, but found no close contacts that would have caused an interruption in playing the game against the Cowboys, nor the removal of other players or team personnel.
“I made the final determination that there were no high-risk close contacts to the case, so there was no need to remove anyone else ,” Dr. Allen Sills said Wednesday.
“I would say it was a very straightforward review because there were very few contacts identified by the data. I think that’s a reflection of the fact that this club has been under our intensive protocol and certainly has done a tremendous job with compliance around their facility leading up to the game.”
The Ravens, who won the game 34-17, couldn’t replace Bryant on the roster.
A diversity report in the NFL assigned high grades for the league office but lagging scores at team levels for racial and gender hiring. The report from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at Central Florida assigned an overall B-minus grade for the league, with a B-plus for racial hiring and aC for gender hiring. The report examined a range of positions at the league headquarters and within franchises using data for the 2020 season. The league headquarters received an A-plus in racial hiring and a Bin gender hiring.
College basketball: NC State paused activities amid positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing. Its game against Florida Atlantic this weekend won’t be played.
College football: Indiana and Purdue agreed to cancel their football game Saturday in Bloomington because of an increase in COVID19 cases at the schools. ... The ACC announced it will allow limited fans to attend its championship game between No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Clemson on Dec. 19 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The state of North Carolina allows outdoor venues to fill 7% of their capacity for fans. Following that guidance, the capacity will be 5,240 for the highly-anticipated title game. Fans and staff must wear masks and follow social-distancing markers displayed throughout the stadium.
Soccer: Real Madrid beat visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 but both clubs advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League. It was Mön chen glad bach’ s first last-16 berth in the Champions League era. The German club made it after Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan played to a scoreless draw in another Group B finale. ... Mohamed Salah eclipsed Steven Gerrard as Liverpool’s top scorer in the Champions League by netting after 55 seconds — another club record — in a 1-1 draw against host FC Midtjylland. Salah now has 22nd career goals in the competition. Liverpool alredy had advanced to the last 16 as the Group Dwinner.