Leaderboard

Agreed, we have sold a bill of goods as to how bad this illness is. For some it is deadly, no doubt, for the vast majority it is not! We have become fearful men. Lakeland should be playing football and dealing with 1 case that statistically is unlikely to do anything of note.

My girls are starting week 4 in Manatee County - no issues of note despite the media's attempts to say otherwise.. The schools need to be opened fully and we need to not be fearful men. It's dragged out here (assuming that's true) because we have freedom and my rights don't end simply because some will suffer injury or loss. Lakeland should be playing football.

Skyway, here's my best shot at an answer to this question: Let's say Johnny plays D-line. And on Tuesday, Johnny tests positive for Covid-19. The test does not tell us how long Johnny has had the virus. He may have had it when he played his game Friday night or when he showed up for film Saturday morning. Or he may not have had it until Monday at practice. All we know is that he tested positive on Tuesday. In the meantime, he passed the virus along to three of his fellow D-linemen -- Steve, Ricardo, and Andre -- sometime prior to testing positive on Tuesday. The problem, as I understand it, is that Steve, Ricardo and Andre probably won't test positive for the virus on Wednesday and may not even test positive on Thursday. But, they've got it. So, while Johnny's sitting at home in quarantine on Friday night, Steve, Ricardo and Andre show up for the game Friday night. And because they're missing Johnny, they all have to take some extra reps, which is tough on them because they're all starting to feel the effects of the virus, but they just think they're tired because of the extra reps. By the 4th quarter, they're huffing and puffing on everyone around them: offensive linemen from the opposing team, running backs they happen to tackle, and linebackers and DB's from their team who have been in the huddle with them (to the extent they still use a defensive huddle). And they also huff and puff on a couple of old referees and their D-line coach (who played D-line 'back in the day' and now tips the scales at over 300 pounds and therefore suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure). And as they're walking off the field after a hard-fought win, their mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, and aunts and uncles all come down on the field to give them big hugs and take some pictures (after all, this could be their last game, what with Covid and all). By the time Steve, Ricardo and Andre get tested on Sunday and get their own positive results on Monday, they have infected ten teammates, four players from the team they just beat, one ref, the overweight D-line coach, and two grandmothers, both of whom have conditions that make them more at risk (yeah, exactly, why were they even at the game in the first place?!?). I think that's the 'spread' that health officials and high school sports administrators are trying to avoid by quarantining the players who tests positive, along with all those in his position group (and anyone else who may have come into close contract with the player who tested positive), and not letting the team play for a week or two until it can be confirmed that no other players test positive. I'm not saying it's the best approach, but I certainly understand the scientific logic behind the approach.

In the week one thread.

I mentioned this a while back the same way. They seem like a fake school.

Sometimes, words or symbols that were perfectly innocent when first coined or used inadvertently become inappropriate later in time because of some intervening acts. Take the swastika, for example. This symbol pre-dated its use by Nazi Germany by many years (if not decades). But, because a very hateful person and political party used it in the 1930's and 40's, it has come to symbolize hate, prejudice and the sins and atrocities of Hitler and Nazi Germany. Similarly, the restaurant chain "Sambo's" recently decided to change its name based on current racial overtones, even though the original name of the restaurant innocently was based on the names of the two founders: Sam and Bo. We're seeing similar changes being made across the nation to names and logos ranging from sports teams to pancake syrup. In the case of Robstown High School, it sounds like the "Cottonpickers" name/mascot has a perfectly innocent, if not proud, origin. However, it would be hard to argue that the term doesn't currently have racial overtones. Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that you did nothing wrong and that circumstances have now rendered your name or mascot 'offensive' to a portion of the population. When this happens, you have two choices: bite the bullet and change the name/logo or, alternatively, dig your feet in and, over time, be perceived as racist even if you're not.