Virus wreaks havoc with Rising’s league
In a sports world where leagues with non-bubble formats have had their COVID-19 protocols challenged, the USL Championship underwent its toughest test yet last week.
Between a single-team outbreak that caused the postponement of two matches along with a separate game where one team didn’t field a full 18man squad, the league has had to adjust on the fly often. Cases have popped up in more clubs as the season restart trudges along, raising the question of safe travel for sports amid a pandemic.
Phoenix Rising FC knows the damage COVID-19 can bring firsthand. At least eight players with the club tested positive, most before the season restarted. That outbreak gave coach Rick Schantz and his squad perspective on taking the virus seriously.
For them, it’s not just about protecting their health. It’s about protecting their careers.
“Because we had some positives early in the season. before the season started, these guys understand how serious it is,” Schantz said. “They don’t want to miss 10, 15 days, because you can lose your job, and the health factor, as well.”
Postponed matches
The USL Championship was the first professional sports league in the United States to resume play in home markets and allow fan attendance for games, for which policies vary from club to club. Some, like Rising FC, haven’t allowed spectators. Others, like Louisville City FC, welcomed nearly 5,000 people for its debut weekend.
Since its July 11 restart, seven league matches have been postponed from their original start dates due to the virus. Two of these were related to the Championship’s biggest one-club outbreak yet: Los Angeles Galaxy II had 11 players test positive for COVID-19 on July 28, leading to the postponement of its scheduled match with San Diego Loyal SC for the 29th.
Galaxy II’s previous opponent, Sacramento Republic FC, also postponed its match with Orange County SC for the 29th as a precaution after the positive tests were announced.
That wasn’t the only COVID-19-related situation in the last week. Five Austin Bold FC players tested positive for the virus in July, leaving just 16 players healthy for its match with San Antonio FC on Saturday. With in-person training suspended after the positive tests until last Thursday, Austin was at a significant disadvantage heading into the weekend.
According to reporting from the Austin American-Statesman, Bold requested postponement for the match but San Antonio refused, leaving Austin with the options to either field a team or forfeit. Bold would go on to play the match and lose 4-2.
When asked if there was any concern the season wouldn’t be completed on time, the USL expressed confidence in its health and safety guidelines agreed upon with the players’ association in June.
“We have full faith and confidence in our protocols and are working with our teams every day to make sure that they’re being implemented correctly,” the USL wrote in a statement. “We also built in to our return-to-play model a significant amount of flexibility to account for the impact of COVID-19 on USL communities, including the opportunity for clubs to have unbalanced schedules, windows for the rescheduling of matches and – if necessary – flexibility in our playoff calendar.”
Schantz echoed those sentiments shared by the league, praising the league’s protocols thus far in effectively finding, isolating and preventing suspected and confirmed cases.
An incident at Phoenix before its 3-1 win over El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday illustrated the protocols in action.
Goalkeepers Zac Lubin and Landon Carter each came down with a stomach illness Friday. Rising FC immediately tested both for COVID-19 and separated them away from the team and Casino Arizona Field. The tests eventually came back negative, but they remained isolated as a precaution.
Taking the health of players and staff seriously is a priority at Rising FC, Schantz said. To him, there’s no such thing as overpreparing for a pandemic.
“One of the things I’ve asked our players to do is after we take our COVID test, they have to stay away from each other and they have to go right to their apartments,” Schantz said.