With the college football season officially underway, it seems for many conferences and programs that the COVID-19 pandemic has disappeared. While some conferences have decided not to play, or are still awaiting a decision, the health of the players is still at risk. A new study by Dr. Curt Daniles, head sports cardiologist at Ohio State, found that about 15% of the athletes who had COVID-19 had developed some form of myocarditis, a heart condition that can lead to cardiac arrest in events of exertion. There are many issues at play here. Coronavirus is a frightening and mysterious disease, and the long term effects can be detrimental, even to younger adults. Understanding that this illness does in fact impact teens and young adults is a first step in deciding future steps.
The larger problem in this case exists in the response, or lack thereof, from select university officials. The lack of transparency about testing results is causing unrest in some universities, most noticeably in the Big-10 conference. By not releasing testing data, officials have misrepresented possible hotspots or outbreaks at these universities, impacting not just student-athletes but anyone who attends. College football brings in a large percentage of revenue for these schools. In 2018, Big-10 schools brought in roughly $800 million in revenue.
Money is necessary for universities to remain open. The revenue brought in by top sports like football and basketball, benefit the coaches and universities, not the athletes. Though this is another debate on the likeness of college athletes, are we asking student-athletes to put their health second, so that instead of getting paid for doing the work, all the higher ups associated with the teams are paid? While many athletes are calling for schools to reverse the postponement, researchers are urging them to take a hard look at new studies examining potential health disasters. While not necessarily immediately impacted, but often forgotten, the exposure to stadium workers, coaches, professors and any person affiliated with the program could be detrimental to the greater population.
With more studies coming out about myocarditis, doctors are warning that schools could be playing with fire. Is the health of the players worth the money that the university will make? The answer to this, of course, depends on the individual answering and what their connection to the program is. The doctors working with the various conferences need to look at the cases from an unbiased standpoint, in order to come to a conclusion about the future of the college football season. Certain doctors working with conferences like the Big-12 are attempting to pass myocarditis off as no big deal. Sure, most of these athletes recover from COVID and are able to return to play, but do the short term benefits outweigh the long term effects?