No Excuses for NFL's Lack of Planning for 2020 Season
I'll be the first to admit, I was the kid that procrastinated on every assignment given to me in high school/college. I would wait until the very last minute and burn through countless essays or worksheets rather than simply doing them in advance to save the hassle/anxiety of completing work in the last moments possible. The only buzzer-beaters I consistently hit was the "submit" button at 11:59 PM.
Before I get into this, I'll give the NFL a little breathing space. The COVID-19 pandemic is something we haven't experienced in our lifetime, and there's truly no definitive right direction to go. All plans for football have some sort of risk factor that can quickly go wrong and ultimately result in a cancellation of the season. On that side of the coin, I understand that running a business (yes, the NFL is here to make billions like they do every season) is tough sledding right now, and I'll be the first to admit I likely couldn't do the job of those making final decisions.
The problem here? There's been no final decisions. Not even a semi-final decision.
When COVID-19 interrupted the seasons of the other three major sports leagues (MLB, NBA and NHL) in the United States, commissioner Roger Goodell was handed a gift on a silver platter: The ability to watch and learn on how other leagues handled their respective returns, including the likes of MLS and other major European soccer leagues.
Goodell and the rest of the big decision-makers had a four month window with legitimate examples of how to handle the situation. The NFL quickly approaches what is the final puzzle piece to the offseason before live football is played, with no game-plan in sight.
They procrastinated.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans welcome rookies today (July 20), with the rest of the league set for arrivals beginning Tuesday July 21.
With training camp set to fully begin underway next week, let's take a look at what the league has said/accomplished in the fight to get our country's greatest sport safely underway:
- Cancelled two preseason games
- Said the season will still progress as planned on many occasions
- That's it. That's the list.
To quote the great Vince Lombardi... What the hell's going on out here?
The issue isn't having a fool-proof, 100% perfect plan. Issues are beginning to arise within the NBA's "bubble", and the NHL still continues to see positive COVID tests ahead of it's opener. Even college football faces serious cancellation probabilities.
The problem rests within the NFL wanting to make money off players who will undoubtedly put themselves at high risk while having no answers to key issues such as how the players will be protected by their employers.
On Sunday, big names across the league voiced their opinion on the lack planning/guidance set forth by the NFL by using the hashtag #WeWantToPlay on twitter. Below are a few of many examples of how players feel heading into training camp:
NFLPA President JC Tretter's statement:
"What you are seeing today is our guys standing up for each other and for the work their union leadership has done to keep everyone as safe as possible. The NFL needs to listen to our union and adopt the experts' recommendations #wewanttoplay"
So here we sit, two months from what is supposed to be the first week of the 2020 regular season. There are currently no agreed upon plans in regards to the safety and protection of the players, while the league has also failed to adopt a uniform policy when it comes to fan attendance. Issues such as what will happen if a test returns positive, how many tests will be taken, terms of travel and all the important details in between do not have a resolution.
So many questions, not very many answers. No answers at all, to be precise.
The entire scenario is frustrating. I say this as both somebody who has the privilege of putting my two cents for millions to read online, and as somebody who so badly just wants a piece of normalcy in form of a 60 minute football game.
The closer we get to football season, the more pessimistic I am about a full season being played. This isn't a political issue. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar machine that has all the tools and resources to make something happen if they want it to happen, which is partly why this entire situation is so bizarre and frustrating.
I'm confident players will arrive to training camp and teams will get the ball rolling on 2020. What I'm not confident in, however, is everything that follows the opening of camps. Hindsight is and forever will be 20/20, but there needs to be an acknowledgement that issues will arise and precautions (that should be in place by now) will be needed.
Thanks to players speaking out and the extremely odd lack of information (Thanks to guys like Schefter/Rapoport, we know everything that happens before it's official) about the league's plans/safety measures for the upcoming season, it all but confirms the public's perception on the NFL during this pandemic:
The NFL sat on their hands and hoped everything would be crystal clear by time the season started. Four months (!) was given for the league to play their cards correctly, and as of right now, players and the fans that cheer them on will deem this nothing short of a failure on the NFL's part. The lack of preparedness and planning for one of the globe's best cash-generating machines is truly astonishing.
There is nothing the league can do to stop the spread of COVID-19. Watching football every Sunday won't magically make the virus go away, and it appears as if we're in this battle for the long-haul.
However, as somebody who shares the same passion for the game as anybody else, it's disheartening to see professional football so close to the start of the season while simultaneously appearing as if no progress was made during a golden opportunity to ensure if football didn't happen, the league did everything in it's power to fight that.
America needs football in the worst way this season. Yet the players on the field need to feel safe upon taking the field, and that's what truly matters. That's undoubtedly the most important piece to the puzzle: Voluntary player participation. Many players have already expressed their concerns over the safety for themselves as well as their family, and the league simply hasn't come close to a satisfactory job of assuring it's players the proper steps will be taken.
We saw what happened with the MLB when it came to negotiations and how bad of a look it turned out to be for the sport of baseball. The NFL has the perfect opportunity to prove itself as the true alpha of sports leagues in this country, yet so far, there's nothing to show.
It simply feels as if we're slowly warming up for a season that won't unfold properly. I'm here for the safety of everybody, and should there be no football played in hopes of a better tomorrow, I think I can handle that. I also think we all want to see football played, as we're all on the same team in terms of doing whatever it takes to make it happen.
However, it feels as if the most crucial part of the team isn't pulling their weight. If football isn't a thing in 2020, we'll simply have to move on and hope for a return next season. Yet I would feel more satisfied knowing we went down swinging with a confident plan, and that's something I simply can't say the NFL has done thus far.
Donnie Druin is a Staff Writer with AllSteelers. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
