ACC Medical Advisory Chair Shares Thoughts On Playing Football This Fall
The ACC has support from its chief medical adviser to play football this fall.
Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease specialist at Duke and the chair of the ACC’s medical advisory group, said Tuesday he sees football as safe to play after six months of research on COVID-19. His conclusion supports the league’s current plan of moving forward with its scheduled Sept. 11 start to the season.
“We believe we can mitigate it down to a level that makes everyone safe,” Wolfe told Sports Business Daily. “Can we safely have two teams meet on the field? I would say yes. Will it be tough? Yes. Will it be expensive and hard and lots of work? For sure.
“But I do believe you can sufficiently mitigate the risk of bringing COVID onto the football field or into the training room at a level that’s no different than living as a student on campus.”
Other leagues’ advisory boards have reached different conclusions. The Mid-American Conference (MAC) became the first league to cancel its season, and commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said his advisory board was “unequivocal” that playing football would not be safe. The American Athletic Conference’s (AAC) board believes it is safe to play.
The MAC and Mountain West have canceled their seasons. The Big Ten and Pac-12 are reportedly leaning that way. The ACC, AAC, Big 12 and SEC are moving forward, for now. The ACC announced last week it will play an 11-game schedule, with Notre Dame included. The Irish’s first game is scheduled for Sept. 12 versus Duke.
Wolfe, though, emphasized within his claim there must be some acceptance of risk in a decision to hold a season.
“We have to co-exist with COVID,” Wolfe said. “I like that saying because it summarizes a reality that this virus isn’t going anywhere. Whilst it ebbs and flows, we’re not going to see it ebb to zero anytime soon.
“You can’t tell me that running onto a football field is supposed to be a zero-risk environment. Look at all of the regular sporting injuries that we accept as a certain level of risk as part and parcel of football. Now the reality is that we have to accept a little bit of COVID risk to be a part of that.”
Wolfe's message has apparently been well received by the people he is advising. According to a report from Yahoo! Sports' Pete Thamel, the league is still planning to play even as the Big Ten announced Tuesday it is not holding a season this fall.
“We’re further away from pulling out now than we were a few days ago,” an ACC source told Thamel. “I think we’re more steady in the boat in sticking with our plan. Given the conditions of COVID, we know that can change quickly.
“The whole purpose of delaying the season was to navigate the return of students. We deserve the opportunity to get to that hurdle and re-assess once that happens.”
Notre Dame’s players said they have accepted the risk. In an open letter Monday night posted on quarterback Ian Book’s Twitter account, 10 Irish team leaders said they want to play this season and urged university presidents and administrators to keep the season as scheduled. Head coach Brian Kelly released his own statement supporting them.
“We want to play football. We are ready for the challenge,” the players’ statement read. “As leaders of this team, we can confidently say the mental and physical health of this team is in a better place with the football season taking place this fall.
“We will continue to work with our university, medical staff and coaches to keep our team as safe and healthly as possible. In return, we are asking for those in power to listen. Don’t change the game plan now. It’s time to take the field.”
No Notre Dame player publicly has opted out of the season.
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