Nationals pitcher blasts the attempts to bring back sports as the coronavirus pandemic worsens

• Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle criticized the push to bring back sports as COVID-19 cases rise in the United States.
• Doolittle called sports a "reward of a functional society," adding that the U.S. hasn't taken the necessary steps to lower COVID-19 case numbers and make it safe for sports to return.
• Doolittle said the coronavirus pandemic has been "politicized" and that if sports can't come back, it will be because people didn't wear masks and follow health and safety protocols.

Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle criticized the push to bring back sports as cases of COVID-19 surge across the U.S.

Doolittle, a 32-year-old starter for the reigning World Series champions, told reporters that sports were the "reward for a functional society" and that the U.S. had done nothing to justify bringing them back.

"We're trying to bring baseball back in a pandemic that's killed 130,000 people," Doolittle said. "We're way worse off as a country than where we were in March when we shut this thing down."

Doolittle criticized the United States' push to re-open, comparing the surging numbers to other "developed" countries that had significantly lowered the case numbers.

"Look at where other developed countries are in their response to this. We haven't done any of the things that other countries have done to bring sports back. Sports are like the reward of a functional society. And we're just like, trying to bring it back, even though we've done none of the steps to flatten the curve, whatever you wanna say.

"We did flatten the curve a little bit, but we didn't use that time to do anything productive. We just opened back up for Memorial Day. We decided we're done with it."

Doolittle, who spoke while wearing a face covering, called for people to wear masks, saying that those who don't follow health and safety protocols will further hinder the ability of sports to return.

"If there aren't sports, it's going to be because people aren't wearing masks, because the response to this has been so politicized. We need help from the general public. If they wanna watch baseball, please wear a mask, social distance, keep washing your hands. We can't just have virus fatigue and think, like, 'Well, it's been four months, we're over it. This has been enough time, right?' ... No, there's things we have to do to bring this stuff back."

Doolittle's comments came as the Nationals announced they were canceling team workouts while waiting for test results from the latest round of COVID-19 tests. The Houston Astros also canceled team workouts while waiting for test results.

"We cannot have our players and staff work at risk. Therefore, we have canceled our team workout scheduled for this morning," Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo said. "We will not sacrifice the health and safety of our players, staff and their families. Without accurate and timely testing it is simply not safe for us to continue with Summer Camp. Major League Baseball needs to work quickly to resolve issues with their process and their lab."

The Los Angeles Angels also sent their own saliva samples to a testing clinic in Utah after testers did not show up at their facility for a round of testing on Sunday, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

As several MLB players opt out of the season, Doolittle told reporters that he planned on playing, but wasn't sure yet, saying he might opt out if he felt unsafe.

When asked whether fans could attend games, Doolittle said people should defer to public health officials.

"Is that safe? I'm not a public health expert, but we should probably defer to them on some of these issues."

Watch Doolittle's comments below:

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