We passed along a Miami Herald report earlier Saturday that said the Dolphins told their team that at least two players have the “swine flu.”
The identities of those players are now available: rookie cornerback Sean Smith and reserve corner Jason Allen are inactive for Saturday’s game because they are ill.
Whether the two actually have swine flu or not is uncertain.
“Two players are sick,” Dolphins team spokesman Harvey Greene said. “They are undergoing tests. We don’t have the
results of the test yet, but when we do get them, it is personal health information that
will not be released publicly.”
Smith’s agent, David Canter, also denied on Twitter that Smith has been diagnosed with the illness: “Sean Smith is
absolutely fine. Reports about him are erroneous & misinformed. He’ll be
at practice Monday. Thanks for your concern but he’s great.”
Canter went on to write that it can’t be swine flu, because test results take 48 hours to come back. Not knowing the results isn’t the same, however, as knowing that Smith is fine.
The Herald stands by their story that players were told Smith and Allen had swine flu. A source told the Herald that any mentioning of swine flu “was the
result of the team trying to take every possible precaution to avoid an epidemic.”
Knowing Miami’s odd history with saying everyone on the team is 100 percent healthy at all times, it’s also possible the team is just trying to put the lid on a potentially explosive story.
The proof will come Monday. If Smith is back at practice like Canter said, then it appears the Dolphins just painted a worst-case scenario to their players, not thinking the information would leak.
Quick, someone tell the agent this is his chance to get his client some cheap publicity.
Potentially explosive story? Everyone talks about swine flu like its the bubonic plague… Landon Donavan had swine flu not too long ago and it didn’t affect him much at all. He missed a game or 2 than was fine. Gotta watch out with little kids, old people, and people with compromised immune systems. Highly unlikely for it to cause serious concern with athletes whom take care of themselves and have acces to doctors around the clock.
Not exactly. Depends on the strain of flu. Some flus, like the 1918 flu, actually hit healthier people harder, and it turns our immune system against you. Not saying this is how the swine flu works, but any team should be cautious. The last thing any team wants is an infectious disease working through the ranks. It can be very hard to contain after a certain point. Vaccinations are coming, but until then, teams would be wise to take any and all precautions in the meantime.