The coronavirus pandemic inevitably will touch every industry, every walk of life. Although only one current member of the broader NFL family has tested positive (Saints coach Sean Payton), there surely will be more.
And they won’t just test positive. The statistics guarantee that some NFL figures will get sick, some will get very sick, and some may die. Case in point: Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report reports that COVID-19 resulted in the placement of former NFL offensive lineman Tony Boselli in an intensive care unit.
Per Freeman, the 47-year-old Boselli is doing better but he’s still receiving treatment.
It’s another reason for everyone to take the situation very seriously, and to ignore those who (for whatever reason) continue to try to downplay the situation as the seasonal flu. The seasonal flu has a vaccine. The seasonal flu doesn’t flood hospitals with people who need serious care in order to remain alive. The seasonal flu doesn’t prompt daily news conferences from the President and governors from the states who are desperate for the materials and equipment necessary to keep health-care workers safe.
Like so many other things in modern life, plenty of people with public platforms locked into an early narrative and now refuse to admit they possibly were wrong, no matter how many people they mislead or endanger. When the world returns to normal, those whose doubled down on misguided messages once it became clear and obvious that this is a unique crisis should be held accountable — especially if they continue to refuse to acknowledge that their shrugs and nonchalance made things worse by giving those who wanted to continue to normally live their lives cover for selfishly ignoring the sage advice of the experts.