Dr. Anthony Fauci Says Sports Can Return This Summer Without Fans in Attendance

The coronavirus has taken over every aspect of our lives and people need things to return to normal, but it doesn’t seem like that will be the case any time soon. Even sports fans are clamoring for some sports action! But if sports, in general, were to return, it could only do so if the events are played without fans congregating in sports arenas, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, according to Bleacher Report.

Fauci, who has had almost as much airtime as President Donald Trump over the past couple of months, believes that there is a way athletes can compete without putting each other in jeopardy with the spread of coronavirus slowing down, but still ongoing. The longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said earlier this week that the only path for sports to return this summer would include having no fans in attendance. He also stated that the players would have to be kept in quarantine for the duration of their seasons.

Even President Trump wants to see sports return. “We have to get our sports back. I’m tired of watching baseball games that are 14 years old,” Trump said. “But I haven’t actually had too much time to watch. I would say maybe I watch one batter then I get back to work.”

Fauci, in an interview with Peter Hamby of Snap Originals (via ESPN), said, “There’s a way of doing that. Nobody comes to the stadium. Put [the players] in big hotels, wherever you want to play, keep them very well surveilled. … Have them tested every single week and make sure they don’t wind up infecting each other or their family and just let them play the season out.”

We are getting closer to that happening as Trump announced that he has assembled a team of notable sports figures to join his advisory panel that will attempt to figure out how to jump-start an economy hurt by COVID-19 without creating an additional health risk.

• Adam Silver (NBA commissioner)
• Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner)
• Gary Bettman (NHL commissioner)
• Rob Manfred (MLB commissioner)
• Jay Monahan (PGA Tour commissioner)
• Dana White (UFC president)
• Lesa France Kennedy (NASCAR CEO)
• Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys owner)
• Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks owner)
• Robert Kraft (New England Patriots owner)