I don’t mind the shutdown, but the logic of shutting down the athletic department and letting everything else carry on makes no logical sense. If it is that bad, then the whole campus needs to be shut down. The sports teams don’t even interact with each other.
9 Likes
My friend is insisting there is cross pollination whether it’s shared facilities or janitorial staff or something - I hope they can point us to that specific risk (without naming names), because without that, I just don’t get it.
1 Like
This makes it sound like it’s a lot worse.
I still think that we can be optimistic that they might let some teams resume activity after a week if they test negative.
Pausing every sport for two weeks indefinitely lacks logic.
Temporarily pausing everything for UP TO two weeks while they figure everything out and determine who has this new strain is more reasonable. Regardless of the pause, the strain most likely made it into the AA community, but it’d still be beneficial to prevent potential spread from teams to each other and/or to other schools during competition.
6 Likes
Agreed, there wasn’t anyone on the basketball travelling to the UK since they were playing on Christmas Day and NYE. They get tested daily, are living in a modified bubble and the state wants to shut things down. Granted I live in a different country there is a stay at home order. At this point the best way to fight the virus is vaccinations because people will still do what they want and travel. I doubt anyone has the answer here but good grief I don’t believe shutting down all athletic programs is the answer.
From the freep article: The state’s patient zero had a negative coronavirus test two days before she traveled Jan. 3 from the U.K. to the U.S.
2 Likes
The woman also tested negative for the virus on Jan. 4 and Jan. 6. She got a positive coronavirus test result on Jan. 8 and began isolation on that date.
Most of the additional seven people who’ve contracted the virus since having close contact with the woman live in connected households, Ringler Cerniglia said, and are also in quarantine.
2 Likes
Because of its state rules, New Mexico and New Mexico state relocated out of state so they could play, is my understanding. If it could be done, moving to Toledo is fine with me.
2 Likes
Here is how: a lot of athletes may take the same buses down to the athletic campus, they might in multiple sports use the same tutoring or counseling. They might in many but all sports use same weight rooms or cardio machines. I also remember seeing a story prepandemic about how meals/snacks on the go was the same distribution for most athletes.
I would guess that some of the major sports have their own facilities, ie men’s basketball and football, which would be why it wouldn’t spread to those teams and seemingly confirmed by no positive tests in those sports.
Also the early cases were from back near Jan 8, I would hope that should have been nearly far enough in time that we would not have to shut down for a full 2 weeks from today, and it only be 7 days.
4 Likes
*Putting on my tin foil suit… Does anyone know who made the decision from the State/County? Have anyone check if they are avid MSU or OSU fans/alum that would love to derail our men’s and women’s bball season?
1 Like
Yeah because the Heath experts in the state of Michigan have done such a bang up job so far…
4 Likes
I’m just beyond floored that someone was allowed to travel to a foreign country in the first place and then that they didn’t quarantine for 14 days after returning.
12 Likes
Won’t derail the thread with long comment, but while I didn’t agree with all of this, some of it’s inescapable. The contradictions are inescapable.
2 Likes
I intentionally avoided the board last night so this morning I scrolled thru this thread and caught up. I am going to try and apply some logic to this decision and defend it. Not saying I agree necessarily…but for perspective.
The B10 rule is a 17 day quarantine for any players who test positive. As we have seen with PSU, Nebraska, and MSU - you don’t just have a couple of players miss…it shuts down your entire program. Nebraska is still out. mSU is hoping to come back this week, but will still be missing players. Villanova missed over a month! Once it starts in a program you have a big issue…and this virus strain is worse.
By taking a pause of two weeks…you can hopefully keep it out of your team completely, let it burn out, and get right back to playing. This is a 2 week break trying to prevent a month out.
And even if the teams are mostly isolated…I am sure they cross paths. Girlfriends, cafeterias, buses, ride shares, shopping.
8 Likes
Wow, need the vaccinations to go faster !
The COVID-19 B.1.1.7 variant is serious and they are doing the right things to try to stop the spread.
4 Likes
Good post. This is crushing news, and message boards are intrinsically reactive. But I don’t think we can condemn a decision taken to protect UM athletes without a long, careful look at decision-making and real circumstances. Might be days before we have any basis whatever.
7 Likes
The health director is also a Michigan state grad and was appointed to the job not even 48 hours ago.
4 Likes
Yeah, this is a no win situation. A sport like football can still contain an outbreak within it’s team and has enough athletes to keep playing games. That has not been possible in basketball even without the UK strain. I would rather prevent our guys from getting it completely rather than try to keep playing games like MSU has where we still miss time and then have to play without a starter or two when we do play.
The failure here was allowing an athlete to go to the UK and not having better procedures in place to isolate them for at least ten days upon return. We can be mad at the health department…but we should also be mad at the AD for not taking more aggressive steps with this athlete. Got too reliant on tests rather than prevention.
13 Likes
Agree 1000%, AC. Too reliant on testing and not enough on prevention and, frankly, common sense. The phrase “out of an abundance of caution” has been used a million times in the past 10 months, so where was it in that particular situation?
3 Likes