As COVID cases continue to rise, sports should be delayed KAAN KOCABAL REPORTER
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ver since the pandemic stopped the world in its tracks, sports everywhere have been abruptly canceled in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. Although professional sports were recently brought back to action, it is still too early for high school athletes to return to their school teams. Even though private club sports have returned with safety measures in place, it’s still not safe to think everything can go back to normal for student athletes. Ultimately, we are still amid a dangerous pandemic, and returning to sports is not a safe option for students at McLean. In Virginia, fall and winter sports have been postponed to December, and they should be postponed even further unless conditions drastically change. With the cold and flu season coming up, the virus will remain in the air much longer when the temperature is cooler. Now is not the time to start having large groups of students work out and practice together. “I think that if there is going to be any form of school in the future, then school sports should not be happening,” sophomore JV soccer player Nathan Jun said. “It’s the best option since local sports are already going on.” Jun plays on a local McLean travel soccer team. He is one of the many athletes who have been playing sports outside of school, putting themselves at greater risk of getting the virus. “I have been playing for my travel soccer team since June and so far there hasn’t really been a problem practicing within my team,” Jun said. “We recently started playing games against different local teams which is pretty nerve-racking—no one wants to get COVID. If sports are going to come back with less caution, I don’t think they should even be played.” 40 | OPINIONS | OCTOBER
Even soccer—a low contact sport—poses multiple risks for transmitting COVID-19. Football, on the other hand, is an incredibly tactile sport and would be a major risk for everyone involved, including fans.
SPORTS GAMES ARE PLACES WHERE LOTS OF INTERACTIONS HAPPEN, SO THERE IS A HIGH CHANCE OF SPREADING COVID.” - WILL WALBY JUNIOR “Football games would be affected because there are normally a lot of spectators,” junior McLean football player Will Walby said. “Spectators wouldn’t be
allowed if sports returned. Sports games are places where lots of interactions happen, so there is a high chance of spreading COVID.” In football, there are a maximum of 55 players on a team, plus the team staff and other programs that are permitted to be on the field at the same time. Even if people were not allowed to watch in person, the sheer number of players and staff on the field would be unsafe. “I have been training ever since I was ready to play again, and even though it would suck to miss another season, I wouldn’t want to risk my health because that can affect me [in the] long term,” Walby said. FCPS needs to cancel all school sports for the rest of the year. Making the decision to not have students participate in any sports this year should not be challenging, and the safety and health of McLean athletes should be prioritized above everything else. Bringing sports back too soon is not worth the risk.
