[Goose]

With respect to sports this fall, I think Stanford has done what it thinks is best for students participating. I think it would be wise at this time to do what is best for the community-at-large and fully abide by the county order.

However, I fully expect that Stanford football will play its two announced games against Pac-12 opponents and that both basketball teams will continue playing games for the next two weeks. Don't expect anything close to a defiant tone from what will surely be carefully worded statements of concern from Stanford leaders, but the actions will speak volumes...

Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I doubt it. Ultimately, Stanford athletics does not want to take up a leadership position on this issue. The precedent has been set elsewhere that big-time college athletics doesn't abide by the spirit of state health orders, much less county orders.

I hope you are wrong, but I am not going to put any money on that outcome.

Does it make it more palatable for Stanford to play out of town with the knowledge that fall quarter is over and winter quarter doesn't start until Jan?

Aren’t all classes virtual?  If so, why does it matter where the students are located - be they athletes or not.

In some sense, since the quarter is over and all classes are virtual having the team members go someplace together to play and practice is justifiable. You could say that they are less likely to get and spread COVID-19 staying together, traveling and living as a team, and getting regularly tested than they would individually flying home. Possibly true.

The problem is that the name on the front of the jersey is Stanford and Stanford is in Santa Clara County. Santa Clara County is suffering great financial and personal loss and hardship due to regulations necessary to halt the spread of COVID-19. Sending a team representing Stanford out of the county in order to escape the effects of the disease on SCC is sending the message to the world that Standford, or at least parts of it, is exempt from the pain. I don't think that is a message we want to send.

I fully understand the argument that it "does no one any good and only harms the athletes" to cancel the rest of the season. In other words they can in fact avoid the pain, or most of it. Canceling the rest of the season does however send the message "We are all in this together. Nobody gets a free pass." I think that message does a lot of good and is really needed in an area where lots of people can and do "cheat" to avoid the pain. It is a symbol of solidarity. So, this is what I think they should do. Easy for me to say, as it affects me much less than it does the team. I can understand why they would chose another path, and I can understand why the University would chose another path. I just hope they do not do so.

[Goose]

With respect to sports this fall, I think Stanford has done what it thinks is best for students participating. I think it would be wise at this time to do what is best for the community-at-large and fully abide by the county order.

However, I fully expect that Stanford football will play its two announced games against Pac-12 opponents and that both basketball teams will continue playing games for the next two weeks. Don't expect anything close to a defiant tone from what will surely be carefully worded statements of concern from Stanford leaders, but the actions will speak volumes...

Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I doubt it. Ultimately, Stanford athletics does not want to take up a leadership position on this issue. The precedent has been set elsewhere that big-time college athletics doesn't abide by the spirit of state health orders, much less county orders.

I hope you are wrong, but I am not going to put any money on that outcome.

Does it make it more palatable for Stanford to play out of town with the knowledge that fall quarter is over and winter quarter doesn't start until Jan?

Aren’t all classes virtual?  If so, why does it matter where the students are located - be they athletes or not.

In some sense, since the quarter is over and all classes are virtual having the team members go someplace together to play and practice is justifiable. You could say that they are less likely to get and spread COVID-19 staying together, traveling and living as a team, and getting regularly tested than they would individually flying home. Possibly true.

The problem is that the name on the front of the jersey is Stanford and Stanford is in Santa Clara County. Santa Clara County is suffering great financial and personal loss and hardship due to regulations necessary to halt the spread of COVID-19. Sending a team representing Stanford out of the county in order to escape the effects of the disease on SCC is sending the message to the world that Standford, or at least parts of it, is exempt from the pain. I don't think that is a message we want to send.

I fully understand the argument that it "does no one any good and only harms the athletes" to cancel the rest of the season. In other words they can in fact avoid the pain, or most of it. Canceling the rest of the season does however send the message "We are all in this together. Nobody gets a free pass." I think that message does a lot of good and is really needed in an area where lots of people can and do "cheat" to avoid the pain. It is a symbol of solidarity. So, this is what I think they should do. Easy for me to say, as it affects me much less than it does the team. I can understand why they would chose another path, and I can understand why the University would chose another path. I just hope they do not do so.