By Warner Cabaniss

COVID-19 has created many obstacles for everyone over the past year, whether it comes from having to work from home or mandatory mask mandates. One thing that has had to be reshaped by COVID-19 is sports, including how they are played and who can attend. Constant changes in mask procedures in sports within different levels in competition, and especially state-specific procedures, have caused confusion as to whether or not masks prevent the spread in sports, but it is not quite that simple. 

Mask protocols during games and practices is one protocol that has been greatly debated by scientists, coaches, and players alike. Even though it is agreed on that mask wearing during sports is the best option to prevent further spreading of COVID-19, different levels of competition have created their own protocols. Mask wearing among players at the professional and college level seems to be quite low but is mandatory in most states to play sports for high school athletes.

Mask wearing during sports is now the new normal. Photo credits: Steph Chambers.

Starting at the top, with professional sports, mask wearing is generally at the lowest of three levels. One reason for this is because of the frequent and required testing of the players. During the adjusted 2019-2020 NBA season last summer, players and coaches had to be tested every day in order to practice or play games. This strategy proved to be very effective, as only two players tested positive for COVID-19 once entering the NBA “bubble,” but none once the season started.

Although this strategy proved to be effective, it is also unsustainable for other sports associations. NBA players had to stay and quarantine at Disney World, where the bubble took place, for more than three months, with no physical contact with the outside world, including, initially, their families. For college and high school sports, this is not attainable, leaving a gray area in how to best handle the possibilities of COVID-19 exposure. .

Like professional athletes, college athletes have the luxury of being tested frequently in an effort to avoid COVID-19 outbreaks among their team and their competition. College athletes are commonly tested at least three times per week, but it can differ with the budget and requirements by different universities and states. Along with budget cuts due to COVID-19 already, testing for 70-80 players and coaches adds an additional strain on the colleges, and the option of cutting a sports program from that university must be considered. With tests costing 55 dollars per person, and if 80 players and staff need tests three times per week, the cost compounds very quickly. Most colleges average 40 athletic teams per university—20 mens’ teams and 20 womens’ teams—leading to an unbelievable strain on the athletic budget.  At the end of it all, the minimum cost comes out to be over $500,000 for testing alone per team. That does not account for cleaning and other new protocols that teams must follow. 

The NCAA created a bubble similar to what the NBA did last summer. Photo credit: Nate Edwards.

At the high school level, mask wearing is at the discretion of the state in which you live. Private schools have the option of enforcing that measure past the level of the state’s protocol, but cannot slack it. Virginia currently requires masks to be worn during competition and practices. When asked about whether or not he agrees with the mandates put on high school athletes, varsity lacrosse player Will Hanson (‘21) said, “I’m willing to wear masks as long as we don’t lose our season, like last year’s seniors did.” The Class of 2020 had hardly started their senior season before COVID-19 had prematurely ended it. 

Warner Lewis (‘24) did not share any experiences with the outgoing senior class from last year, but he also approves of wearing masks during athletic competition. When asked what he thought of wearing masks during sports, and whether or not high schoolers should be required to wear them, considering college and professional athletes do not, he replied, “Whatever is safest to play sports is needed, and if a mask is needed to play a game, then I will be willing to wear one.”

Coronavirus cases are dropping in certain parts of the country, and many people are getting fully vaccinated, since vaccines are now available for anyone over 16. It is possible that restrictions within sports will be minimized within the next few months, but until then masks and social distancing when possible will ensue. 

Featured image credit: Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac.