"Football May not Happen this Year," Warns Dr. Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, believes it may be impossible for the NFL to host a 2020 season amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

With just 12 weeks to go before the official 2020 season kickoff, Fauci told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Thursday that "it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall."

The news comes just days after several players for the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys—including star running back Ezekiel Elliott—tested positive for COVID-19. Reportedly, some NFL coaches are now concerned about beginning the season during the pandemic.

In May, Fauci said that it could be "feasible" for teams to play in empty stadiums in 2020. Now, he says that players would have to be "essentially in a bubble" in order to avoid a league-wide outbreak. 

"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 this year," he said. He also suggested that players would have to be "insulated from the community" and "tested nearly every day," according to CNN. 

NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills released a statement in response to Fauci's warning later on Thursday. 

"Dr. Fauci has identified the important health and safety issues we and the NFL Players Association, together with our joint medical advisors, are addressing to mitigate the health risk to players, coaches and other essential personnel," Sills' statement reads. "We are developing a comprehensive and rapid-result testing program and rigorous protocols that call for a shared responsibility from everyone inside our football ecosystem. This is based on the collective guidance of public health officials, including the White House task force, the CDC, infectious disease experts, and other sports leagues."

It continued, "Make no mistake, this is no easy task. We will make adjustments as necessary to meet the public health environment as we prepare to play the 2020 season as scheduled with increased protocols and safety measures for all players, personnel and attendees. We will be flexible and adaptable in this environment to adjust to the virus as needed."

In an interview with ESPN on Monday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he believed the League was prepared for the possible complications of the coronavirus this season. 

"So positive tests are going to happen," Goodell said. "The issue is, can we obviously prevent as many of those from happening, but in addition, treat them quickly, isolate them and prevent them from directly impacting our player personnel." He added that all players who have contracted the virus recently had only mild symptoms or were asymptomatic. 

Currently, the NFL plans to test players two to three times per week and isolate those who test positive for the virus, according to NFL Players Association Medical Director Thom Mayer. On Monday, Mayer announced the tentative plan to agents during a conference call.

In early June, the NFL sent a memo to teams, which detailed required safety measures regarding locker room setups and social distancing during workouts. 

The League has already canceled all planned international games for the 2020 season, including four in London and one in Mexico City. 

No plans to further delay or cancel the season have been released following Fauci's warning.