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Anthony Fauci doubts the NFL will be able to come back unless it adopts a 'bubble' similar to the NBA's restart plan

Jun 18, 2020, 23:30 IST
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Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN that unless the NFL committed to a bubble "it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall."REUTERS/Leah Millis // REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci says that unless the NFL is willing to isolate teams in a bubble, "football may not happen this year."
  • Fauci cited the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19 cases in the fall as a difficult hurdle for the league to clear in terms of returning to play safely.
  • Teams are already struggling to deal with some the safety protocols that the league has put out, with Baltimore Ravens head coach calling the guidelines "humanly impossible" to follow.
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The top infectious-disease expert in the United States is warning that football might be in trouble this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN that unless the NFL is able to establish comprehensive isolation and testing protocols — including adopting a "bubble" akin to the NBA's restart plan — the season might not be able to start in September.

"Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall," Fauci said, according to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta. "If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year."

In May, Fauci sounded a little more hopeful about the prospects of an NFL season in the fall. While he told Peter King of NBC Sports that teams would be ready to "shut it down" should multiple players on their roster test positive, he believed that with regular testing, the season might go on.

"I think it's feasible that negative testing players could play to an empty stadium," Fauci said at the time. "Is it guaranteed? No way ... There will be virus out there, and you will know your players are negative at the time they step onto the field."

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Now, Fauci says that the league's best chance of moving forward is adopting a "bubble." While the NBA is set to restart its season in late July at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Florida, the prospect of bringing 22 teams of 15 players to one central location is a slightly easier logistical problem than the 53-man rosters of NFL teams.

Some NFL teams are already struggling with the limited COVID-19 protocols that are already in place. Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called the guidelines the league had put out "humanly impossible" to follow.

"I've seen all the memos on that, and to be quite honest with you, it's impossible what they're asking us to do. Humanly impossible," Harbaugh said. "So, we're going to do everything we can do. We're going to space, we're going to have masks. But, you know, it's a communication sport. We have to be able to communicate with each other in person. We have to practice."

The idea of an NFL bubble feels even more impractical, given that the league has thus far operated as if the season will start on time and according to plan with teams playing across the country. Fauci can't really stop the league from going on as planned, but his advice indicates that the prospects of the 2020 NFL season getting off to a smooth start might not be so simple.

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We're getting a better look at the NBA's 'bubble' environment in Disney, and it includes frequent COVID-19 testing, movie nights, DJ sets, and physical-distancing alarms

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