By Aaron Moore

After months of empty stadiums and exasperated fans, the return of sports during the era of COVID-19 and quarantining was celebrated by most fans. The doldrums of quarantine left people bored and tired. Fans were not able to watch their teams and would resort to binge-watching shows. However, every show has its season finale. After a few months, sports came back around. In a flurry, the NBA started on July 31, NFL on September 10, NHL on August 1, MLB on July 23; and other sports, including many NCAA sports, returned as well. 

Each league is at a different point in their seasons. The NBA Finals were won by the Los Angeles Lakers in October, the MLB’s World Series ended a few short weeks later, the NFL is in the middle of their regular season, and the NHL had just begun their season. Sports fans are finally able to watch their favorite teams again. 

Along with the return of sports, there are many new terms and rules for the teams to be allowed to play. Some leagues used the bubble method, where they put all their players into a quarantine zone. To enter the zone, players must separate themselves from other people for two weeks and pass multiple COVID-19 tests. However, some leagues, like the NFL and most college sports, have chosen not to go into a bubble. This mostly makes the exposure and contraction of COVID-19 inevitable within the teams. For example, in late September, the NFL’s Tennessee Titans had an outbreak of 21 cases on their team. The Minnesota Vikings had to briefly quarantine because of the game the week before, but all tests came back negative. However, the Titans did have to cancel their game against the Texas that weekend. Due to COVID-19’s extreme contagiousness, all leagues struggle with preventing the spread of the virus. However, teams are putting in place plenty of precautions to protect the players.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) illustration of COVID-19. Image credit: CDC.

Hundreds, if not thousands of professional, college, and high school athletes have contracted COVID-19. For athletes, what are the short and long-term effects of this virus? There are many unknowns in this area, but recent studies have shed light on its effect.

The short-term symptoms of COVID-19, upon contraction and for some time after, include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, the new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. In extreme cases, people can experience persistent pain and pressure in the chest, confusion, inability to stay awake, and bluish lips. Of the people that contract COVID-19, one in seven will have symptoms for four weeks, one in 20 will for seven weeks, and one in 45 for 12 weeks. These symptoms lie upon a spectrum of hostility, and their persistence after a player is cleared for action is surprisingly common.

Doing anything while ill is a struggle, whether it is going to school, doing homework, or playing sports. Illness can affect a player’s performance in-game. Collegiate swimmer Skylar Mullins (’22), says, “ Swimming with a cold or sickness is bad because you aren’t getting much air.” In every sport, you need air to perform to your full potential. Collegiate varsity swim coach Mike Peters, also a 5th and 6th Grade math teacher, says, “Once breathing capacity is affected, performing at their best will be much more difficult.” Since symptoms of COVID-19 last after a negative test, some of them can harm performance.

Collegiate School Aquatic Center, where Coach Mike Peters coaches the Collegiate Swim Team. Photo credit: SwimRVA.

Ann Moore is a nurse at VCU Medical Center who is a marathon runner and swims consistently throughout the summer. She contracted COVID-19 and had many symptoms, including cough and loss of smell and taste. Moore said during swimming and running, “I was unable to breathe as easily and catch my breath,” which greatly affected her ability to work out and perform properly.

Shortness of breath and symptoms of COVID-19 will greatly affect a player’s ability to perform. In any sport, just a few inadequate games can put a blemish on a player’s record. Peters says that college swim teams have more swim meets than the average high school swimmer, and they mainly focus on the one championship meet. “Although a swimmer who can swim fast in the championship meet alone is still recruited, having a consistent performer will be looked upon higher, as it is more reliable. That swimmer also would be more likely to step up in a championship meet.” 

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. Photo credit: Gail Burton.

When colleges see that sometimes a high school player’s effectiveness in games or meets is not consistent, they are less likely to recruit or contact the player. Part of a college recruiter’s job is to evaluate players’ academics, athletic performance, and character. During an athlete’s high school career, a recruiter will contact the school and the club teams the athlete has been involved with. Along with this, the recruiter will attend any tournaments, meets, or games that are happening for the player at the time. If a player is recently recovering from COVID-19 while recruiters are in this process, the recruiter could get a non-representative view of the player’s performance. One character trait that colleges look for is consistency in work ethic and athletic performance. Due to the virus’s harsh symptoms, an infected player may not be performing at their full capability, and the recruiter will be less likely to select them based on their poor performance. 

Aside from the symptoms of COVID-19, the two-week quarantine can affect a player as well. During this time, a player is confined to their room, where they are unable to work out and exercise either due to symptoms or not having access. The first thing affected by this lack of activity is aerobic capacity, meaning the body’s ability to pump blood and send oxygen to the rest of the body. Over two weeks, “You begin to lose the cardiovascular gains you’ve made, such as your heart’s ability to pump blood more efficiently, your body’s improved capability to use carbohydrates for fuel, and your muscles’ enhanced capacity to process oxygen,” according to registered nurse Jennifer Boidy.

The body’s ability to effectively use oxygen is called VO2 Max, which is the amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise. Peters calls VO2 Max, “one of the most telling measures of an athlete’s aerobic ability.” With less blood flow and lower VO2 Max, a player will reach a high heart rate quicker, and it will take them longer to return to a regular heart rate. The body’s reaction to decreased oxygen is for the heart to beat faster; however, since the body cannot use as much oxygen, the heart rate increases quickly. Two weeks of not training will also affect muscle strength. Muscles in this time will become smaller, weaker, and easily fatigued. These effects of two weeks without training are all detrimental to an athlete. Increased heart rate and less oxygen to the muscles causes quick fatigue and decreases endurance. Decreased muscle size will take away from the player’s power and strength. Overall, the player can’t perform at their top level for as long, and the speed of their throw, the strength of their lift, and the height of their jump will all be less than what it was before their two-week quarantine.

However, while the short-term effects of COVID-19 can be challenging, the long term effects are even worse. Laurie G. Jacobs, M.D., chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center, says, “Individuals recovering from COVID-19 may struggle with several respiratory, cardiac and kidney problems. They also have an increased risk of blood clots, which can potentially lead to a stroke or heart attack.” As the effects of the virus are studied more, it is clear that there are more effects than just the basic symptoms. COVID-19 is causing permanent damage in people’s lungs, heart, and damage to the brain.

One type of damage that has been seen after COVID-19 is pulmonary fibrosis, which is caused by damage and scar tissue within the lungs. The scar tissue makes the composition of the lungs thick and stiff, making it harder for the lungs to expand and compress properly. In the end, this makes it harder for a person to breathe and send oxygen to the rest of the body.

Another terrifying result of COVID-19 is heart trouble. A study by the University of Frankfort showed that 75% of those infected demonstrated inflammation in the heart and muscle lining. The effects of inflammation in the heart can lead to arrhythmia, where the heartbeat is irregular, too slow, or too fast, and heart failure. All of these factors are detrimental to an athlete’s performance. 

Finally, is the symptom known as “brain fog.” This term is used to describe, “a cluster of neurological symptoms that a lot of people who have had COVID-19 go on to experience for months following their initial infection.” Corey McPherson, who works in IT,  experienced “brain fog” and says, “I don’t remember much about when I was actually sick with it.” He also says that his previously stellar memory is terrible now.  Alysson Muotri, a neuroscientist at the University of California, says, “The neurological symptoms are only becoming more and more scary.” A study by Indiana University surveyed over 1,500 people who contracted COVID-19 and were still having long-lasting symptoms. Of these 1,500 people, more than half of the people had concentration problems, and 39% had said they had memory problems. This symptom could have extremely detrimental effects on a player. In many sports, athletes must memorize plays, and concentration is an important factor as well. Peters says, “A swimmer who is just going through the motions will not get all that they can out of a meet or practice,” meaning that it takes focus for a player to grow and become stronger in their sport. If a player cannot remember the plays, and cannot concentrate on competition, performance will be greatly affected.

It is well known that COVID-19 seems to have harsher effects on older people. However, teens and young adults also contract it and suffer from symptoms. However, there do not need to be apparent symptoms for the virus to cause damage to the body. Long-term effects of the virus, like lung and heart damage, are being shown in many asymptomatic cases.

Duke versus Georgetown Lacrosse. Photo credit: Rex Hammock via Wikimedia Commons.

24-year-old Jules Heningburg was a Premier Lacrosse League player. After being diagnosed with COVID-19, he did what everyone is required to do: quarantine until he was healthy and had a negative test. His ordeal was simple; he had no symptoms or complications with COVID-19. However, a month after he was released from quarantine, his season ended. Tests conducted by the Lacrosse League showed that Heningburg was at high risk for cardiac arrest during high-intensity training. Heningburg’s oxygen saturation levels also dropped at an “alarming rate.” He said, “That’s what I’ve been doing, working out to build my lungs back up.” However, his doctors told him to return home, and this problem correlated with his heart problems. Similarly, Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and Georgia State quarterback Mikele Colasurdo reported that they would be sitting out their seasons for similar complications.

Was the return of sports too early? Sports in America are approximately a 100 billion dollar industry that provides hundreds of thousands of jobs. Near the end of July, when professional sports were just about to restart, new research suggested that COVID-19 could have long term effects on the lungs, heart, and brain. At the time, however, these studies were preliminary and were not strong enough to show conclusive evidence. With the leagues’ economics declining, they decided that restarting competition was worth the risk. Since leagues like the NBA had to reduce their season by around 15%, the total loss from players’ salaries in that short amount of time equaled around 600 million dollars. While the leagues needed to restart competition, they may have begun too early because they did not know the unforeseen effects of this virus.