Major Sports Leagues Use the “Bubble” as a shield against Covid-19

 

By DJ Rankins

JRN100 News Staff Writer

 

Sports leagues around the world have been successfully using restricted “bubbles” to contain teams within confined areas and keep them away from the public as a way to limit COVID-19.

 

Zachary Binney, an epidemiologist at Emory University, said his study shows that the bubbles have worked with NCAA men’s and women’s basketball along with multiple professional sports leagues. 

 

“As I see it, each and every bubble has been successful in terms of limiting the number of positive cases. This first began with the NBA who came out of a month-long bubble with zero negative cases,” he said. 

 

Binney helps viewers to see both sides of the study of how productive these bubbles can be for players and staff. The unpopular non televised aspect of these confined areas is the mental health of those involved. 

 

Geo Baker, a starting point guard for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, said the restrictions weigh heavily on athletes both on and off the playing field. 

 

“It's unfortunate after Rutgers had not won a playoff game in 30 plus years and post-game we couldn’t even celebrate together as a team outside of the facility,” he said. 

 

Baker understands the importance of staying confined to prevent the spread of Covid-19 but said he finds himself having trouble coping with the little time he gets for team bonding post games and practices. 

 

Binney said that while the bubbles have helped, they can be enlarged. 

 

“I believe that building restaurants and hang-out spaces for each team could be very beneficial in terms of helping players maintain a positive mentality as this is a major issue in our world today,” he said. 

“I do not see the reasoning behind letting teams practice and play games together but not allow interactions outside of the basketball facility,” he said. 

 

Binney said that the players having larger bubbles would allow for teams to spend time together in safe spaces while also allowing them to have social time.

 

The idea of adding spots within the bubble to boost player morale along with increasing the opportunity for team bonding is an idea that will bolster mental health, while still keeping players and coaches separated from the public.

 

Binney made it a point to include each and every bubble in his study. These bubbles consisted of NBA, NHL, MLB, and NCAA division one men’s and women’s basketball. 

 

“I was extremely impressed with the NBA’s ability to hold such a successful bubble after being the first professional league to try this. This was closely followed by the NHL who once again worked the bubble to perfection,” he said. 

 

Baker says that it is clear that professional sports leagues have worked this to perfection and this is due to the maturity of these older players. Baker notes this and believes that the maturity level of college players is not at the pro capacity. He feels as if bubbles are the route to take, however with different standards for college players. 

 

“I believe that college players need time with their teams more than anything. College is the bridge that will get us to the professional level and that is so much more possible through more interactions,” he said. 

 

The importance of having success within college athletics is what catches the eyes of scouts on the professional level. This is why Baker has such an issue with how the bubble is being conducted. He says this is due to the fact that scouts are not seeing teams at their full chemistry due to restricted visiting outside of the arena. 

 

This study was furthered when Washing Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette talked about his time within the NHL bubble in this interview. 

 

“I see a lot of glaring differences between how the pros conduct bubbles and how it is done for colleges. This ranges from interactions, living conditions, and food,” he said.

Within the professional sports world, players were given choices in terms of what kind of rooms they wanted and what food that they would like. These players were even getting the choice to door dash or order food from places around the area, while in NCAA limited menus were given to players from chefs within the facilities. 

 

Each of the three men made it clear that it is due to the misconception that professional sports make more money during playoffs than division one men's basketball players. However, this statement is false, “March Madness” is the number one visited and watched sporting event in the United States. 

 

Emory's study was created before the NBA playoffs in 2020 and was titled “Resolutions to the Bubble”. He mentioned each and every league that used this format along with comparing and contrasting each “bubble” and how it combated Covid-19.

 

Emory, Baker, and Laviolette all shared similar opinions in terms of the difference between a professional bubble and one conducted by the NCAA. They each emphasized the importance of social interactions in terms of the college players. 

 

They shared insight into the differences between the two and it shows that each of the bubbles did its job in terms of limiting the spread of Covid-19. But they did forget about other issues that occur within these bubbles.