One of the benefits of the NFL kicking off its slate of training camps in late July is it is well out of the way of cold and flu season. The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is in the same family of viruses and one theory is it should all simmer down by the summer.
The NBA has suspended its season. Major colleges, universities, and their conferences have altered their spectator attendance and media access to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Will the NFL similarly be affected?
The next convocation upcoming on the offseason schedule is the annual league meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. Michael Colangelo from the Touchdown Wire speculates that could be the first NFL event impacted by the coronavirus.
The League Meeting will probably go off without a hitch but it may not be covered as heavily by the press as it has been in recent years. Maybe the owners decide to ban all media members. After all, said media members will be coming in from all parts of the country and put on planes with a bunch of people who are traveling.
Most NFL owners fall into demographic categories that are more susceptible to greater health problems when infected with COVID-19. The disease is statistically worse for people above 70 and that describes a bunch of owners and some coaches are close to 70 as well. They could practice social distancing in press conferences, but the owners may not want to take the chance.
The math alone suggests the owners meetings will be impacted. If only the team’s designated voter, general manager, and coach attend, that is 96 people coming from states that have already had confirmed coronavirus cases. Throw in at least two beat writers per club, and the number of attendees increases to 160, and even this number is not realistic because ownership goes as a family, coaches bring their families, and even media members will bring along friends and relatives.
The NBA showed strong leadership in suspending their season until the spread of the virus gets under control. Expect the NFL to take similar precautions in the offseason so they don’t have to make such a bold decision during the regular season.
