[CardinalSagehen]

I don’t think they should play.  Said that from day one.  They aren’t getting paid.  But if I stop and truly think about it, what is the greater risk to college  players, Covid or CTE.  I suspect it’s the latter. In fact, I doubt it's particularly a close issue.  So why do we allow the sport in the first place.  Or put another way - why the outrage over the rather minute long term risk from Covid complications compared to the relative quiet response to CTE.  Which is a considerably higher risk.  The answer is politics.

I agree with the statement that it’s inconsistent to be concerned about Covid and not CTE.  I’m personally concerned about both, but there are some important differences between them. 

Covid is transmissible to the community, while CTE is not. We know Covid can spread extremely rapidly among teammates that are training or playing together, and college teams can’t test frequently enough to catch all of these infections early.  As a result, players can pass it to the community.  

In addition, Covid, we hope, is temporary and solvable. It doesn’t require a permanent killing of the sport, which would be a much bigger trade-off than one season. 

That said, football injuries are likely much riskier than Covid to the athletes themselves. It’s even strange to worry about CTE and not chronic orthopedic issues, which have a more tangible impact on so many football players - but where does it all end?! 

I’m of the opinion that football does more good than bad, but not during a pandemic.  And I think it’s way different for the NFL vs. CFB.

[CardinalSagehen]

I don’t think they should play.  Said that from day one.  They aren’t getting paid.  But if I stop and truly think about it, what is the greater risk to college  players, Covid or CTE.  I suspect it’s the latter. In fact, I doubt it's particularly a close issue.  So why do we allow the sport in the first place.  Or put another way - why the outrage over the rather minute long term risk from Covid complications compared to the relative quiet response to CTE.  Which is a considerably higher risk.  The answer is politics.

I agree with the statement that it’s inconsistent to be concerned about Covid and not CTE.  I’m personally concerned about both, but there are some important differences between them. 

Covid is transmissible to the community, while CTE is not. We know Covid can spread extremely rapidly among teammates that are training or playing together, and college teams can’t test frequently enough to catch all of these infections early.  As a result, players can pass it to the community.  

In addition, Covid, we hope, is temporary and solvable. It doesn’t require a permanent killing of the sport, which would be a much bigger trade-off than one season. 

That said, football injuries are likely much riskier than Covid to the athletes themselves. It’s even strange to worry about CTE and not chronic orthopedic issues, which have a more tangible impact on so many football players - but where does it all end?! 

I’m of the opinion that football does more good than bad, but not during a pandemic.  And I think it’s way different for the NFL vs. CFB.