Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who’s a part of the White House’s coronavirus task force, thinks sports can return sooner than later.
In a recent Snapchat interview, Fauci said sports could return if played in empty stadiums and with teams strictly quarantined in hotels in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Under such harsh restrictions, athletes wouldn’t be able to be exposed or spread the virus and could resume a season as usual.
“There’s a way of doing that,” Fauci said. “Nobody comes to the stadium. Put them in big hotels, wherever you want to play, keep them very well surveilled and have them tested every week and make sure they don’t wind up infecting each other or their family, and just let them play the season out.”
Currently, the NBA, NHL and MLB seasons are suspended indefinitely. The NFL, which is in its offseason, recently elected to hold a virtual draft. The PGA Tour is planning to start back up in June.
Fauci said he was sympathetic to the country’s longing for sports, adding that he’s a fan himself.
“People say, ‘Well, you know, you can’t play without spectators.’ Well, I think you’ll probably get enough buy-in from people who are dying to see a baseball game, particularly me,” Fauci said. “Living in Washington, we have the world champion Washington Nationals. I want to see them play again.”
He might get that chance if MLB’s Arizona plan comes to fruition. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said Tuesday he’s open to MLB’s plan, bringing all of its teams to his state to play out the season and have them quarantined in hotels when not playing.
“Two words that would allow the country and the state of Arizona to know that things were headed back to normal would be, ‘Play ball,'” Ducey said.
Though there are many logistical obstacles for MLB to overcome, some players support the idea. ESPN’s Jeff Passan said this week, “It seems like it’s going to be Arizona or bust for Major League Baseball.”