Despite requests, rallies and rumblings, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says it’s just not safe to play contact sports like football right now. Rush University Medical Center Infectious Disease Specialist Michael Lin agrees, and says it’s not just game time that’s a concern.
“While a contact sport itself provides an easy way on the field for the virus to spread, it is also incredibly important to remember there are many off the field activities that are associated with contact sports; such as athletes using locker rooms, working out in gyms, and traveling together, that provide a perfect storm of conditions to enable the virus to spread quickly,” Lin states.
Governor Pritzker has been hearing from a lot of coaches, parents and student athletes who want to get back on the football field or hockey rink. He says the risk of spreading COVID-19 is too high and that your actions affect others.
“While parents might choose to send their children out onto the playing field, I can tell you that someone else who becomes ill because of that decision, wouldn’t call that your personal choice,” Pritzker reports.
Governor JB Pritzker says he will not give in to pressure about letting youth sports resume at this time.
***Report Courtesy of the Illinois Department of Central Management Services***
