Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski thinks it might be time to tap the brakes on the sport during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Duke Blue Devils lost Tuesday night to Illinois, and the man running the team had some very blunt comments about the state of the sport during the coronavirus pandemic. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Coach K said the following about college basketball and the mental health of players during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Sports Illustrated:
You have 2,000 deaths a day. You have 200,000 cases. People are saying the next six weeks are going be the worst. To me, it’s already pretty bad. On the other side of it, there are these vaccines that are coming out. By the end of the month 20 million vaccine shots will be given. By the end of January or in February, another 100 million. Should we not reassess that? See just what would be best?…Do I think things should be done a little bit different? I mean, yeah. A lot of kids aren’t going to be able to go home for Christmas. It’s probably a time when they should, for mental health. But we’re just plowing through this.
He’s obviously making two huge points here. First and foremost, the impact of coronavirus on America and sports can’t be overstated.
The virus brought the country to a grinding halt, and we’ve all seen it disrupt sports in an incredible way. Games are being canceled all over the place in basketball and football. Wisconsin vs. Louisville was just called off ahead of the Wednesday matchup because of coronavirus.
So, when it comes to the situation on the ground, Coach K definitely has a point that it’s chaotic. Should we stop playing? Well, he’s not saying that, but does seem to think we should take a hard look at the situation.
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Secondly, the mental health aspect is incredibly important here, and it’s actually something I can speak to firsthand.
When I worked in college basketball, it was tough for players, especially the young ones, to not go home for the holidays because of the game schedule. At least they had parties, social events and women to spend time with.
Now, they have none of that and they still can’t go home for the holidays because it might result in an outbreak within the team. That has to take a gigantic toll on people.
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It’s a strange time to be alive, and the world of sports has never been more chaotic. Hopefully, we eventually make it through this insane situation and get to the other side.