Fauci: ‘Unless Players Are in a Bubble…it Would Be Very Hard to See How Football Is Played this Fall’

Dr. Fauci
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla

The NFL is gearing up to play their season on time and on schedule, but one of the nation’s leading health officials has a stern warning that could put the brakes on those plans.

In an interview with CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, the head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told viewers that there could be no football this year unless NFL players were kept “in a bubble.”

“Unless players are essentially in a bubble – insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day – it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall,” Fauci said. “If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.”

The NBA has spoken publicly and at-length about keeping players in a bubble as play resumes. The NFL, however, has not publicly spoken as seriously about taking those types of measures. Though, after Fauci’s comments, that might change.

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn

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