GAA is not weakened by revising its opinion

OFTEN quoted but seldom heeded, the words of JM Keynes have become a throwaway mantra, wisdom that is easily discarded.

‘When the facts change, I change my mind,’ the economist once said.

It’s a very mature position to take – and one that would lead to screams of ‘coward’ and ‘surrender’ in the hot, often stupid, climate of debate today.

Revising a position is vital for sports organisations dealing with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, though.

Scientific understanding of the virus changes quickly because it has only been studied for a matter of months.

Public health advice must adapt accordingly – and so should any sport pushing for a return to action.

A number of sources in Irish sport spoke this week about the value of data in trying to convince senior health officials and the Government that it is safe for their sport to return to action.

And there have been repeated suggestions that GPS data could be important in the cases that soccer and Gaelic games might make.

Part of any GAA plan, though, will surely have to be a reassessment of their position that clubs should come back first.

This looks a logistical nightmare, given it is easier to advise a few dozen intercounty panels than thousands of club sides across the land.

Revisiting that position would not make the GAA appear weak, but just better informed.