US sports leagues face COVID-19 crisis with outbreaks and postponed games

Professional sports leagues in the U.S. are dealing with a surge of COVID-19 cases, forcing the NHL and NBA to postpone games and the NFL to struggle to fill spots for absent players.

As infections across the country increase, so do infections in the national sports leagues. The current seven-day daily average is 118,515 cases per day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is a 37.3 percent increase from the previous week.

On Monday, the NFL reported a single-day high of 36 positive tests among players. By Wednesday, the number increased to 90 players. Sixteen players from the Los Angeles Rams are positive and the Cleveland Browns have 15 players testing positive.

The NFL is considering tightening its rules and will require booster shots for staff and coaches. Around 95 percent of NFL players are vaccinated and almost 100 percent of the staff is fully vaccinated, according to the NFL.

There is no indication that the NFL will postpone any games. However, the NFL Players Association is discussing changing the COVID-19 protocols for the league, including daily testing for vaccinated players.

“I think the things that made us successful was keeping safety first. Second, being willing to adapt at all times. It’s clear even in the last couple of weeks that the changes are pretty significant and different than they were before, and I think it calls to modifications to our protocols in general, and we’re working with the players association on that,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said.

On Monday, the NBA postponed its first game this year due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the Chicago Bulls. According to NBA protocols, players who have tested positive have to sit out for 10 days or produce two negative tests in 24 hours.

Despite 97 percent of NBA players being vaccinated and 60 percent already with booster shots, 36 of the 51 positive cases among players this year happened in the last two weeks.

"Like the rest of the country, and as was predicted by our infectious disease specialists, we have seen an increase of cases around the league. As we have since the pandemic began in March 2020, we will continue to follow the science and data and will, in close partnership with the Players Association, update our protocols as deemed appropriate by our medical experts," said league spokesman Mike Bass.

The NHL has had the most postponed games for a league this season, having to delay 10 games. The NHL announced that it will enhance protocols in January to include daily testing, mandatory masks, and restricting players to hotels when traveling. There is only one unvaccinated player in the league.

The surge in positive cases of athletes could be attributed to the effect of the vaccines wearing off, according to sports epidemiologist Zachary Binney at Oxford College of Emory University. Most of the athletes were vaccinated at the same time, so their immunity could be decreasing simultaneously.