Experts Continue Speculation on Football in 2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci suggests football players should be in "bubble" for season to happen.

The NFL and college football programs across the nation are ramping up toward their respective seasons in 2020. Still, at least one medical expert doesn't believe a season can happen under current conditions. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been a leading figure in our nation's fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, was quoted in an article by CNN on Thursday with the following comment. 

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tells CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, "Unless players are essentially in a bubble -- insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day -- it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall. If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen.

Since the return of student-athletes to campuses for the resumption of voluntary workouts, multiple players at Houston and Alabama, and other universities along with reports this week that several players for both the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans have tested positive for the virus.

Those positive reports have given rise to fear that a second wave being predicted could short-circuit a potential season. 

The NCAA, individual conferences, and schools have restrictions and protocols in place to protect student-athletes. At this point, here have been no reports that any of the college players contracted the virus upon their return to campus. 

NFL players have not returned to team facilities, and those who have contracted the virus did so outside team environments. 

Football fans across the country are desperate for the return of the sport they love, or any sport at this time, but should the second wave of infections continue to grow, those hopes could be dashed. 

As sports journalists, we are in the same boat with fans, desperate to have actual games to cover and stories of wins and losses, or touchdowns and turnovers to write about, but at the same time, my expectations are still in the wait-and-see phase. 

Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven.