NCAA Chief Medical Officer Says Testing Must Change for Sports to Return

Without better testing, Dr. Brian Hainline is confident sports won't be played safely this fall

NCAA Brian Hainline
Division II Presidents and Chancellors Summit Business Session at the 2013 NCAA Photos via Getty Images Convention held at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX. Pictured: Brian Hainline, MD
Stephen Nowland/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

As college football conferences begin to postpone their fall seasons, an important NCAA executive has weighed on the possibility of collegiate sports returning to action. As first reported by The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach, NCAA chief medical officer Dr. Brian Hainline said that he believes sports won’t return unless coronavirus testing changes for the better:

Hainline went further, saying that as it stands today, there is no way that colleges could play sports safely, adding that the biggest risk is of players and students socializing on campuses as universities open back up. He said that would be the “downfall” of any plan to have sports return to action this fall.

That is not a false concern, as Notre Dame, to name one school, has already seen a spike in positive test results for coronavirus since opening the campus back up to students. If Hainline’s concerns bear out, it seems nearly impossible for colleges to open back up and also have sports in a way that would protect athletes, a concern aired publicly first by a group of Pac-12 players demanding better safeguards against the virus.

There is a potential salve for the testing problem coming, however; according to USA Today, the FDA has approved a new saliva test that would be cheaper than the current nose swab variety. The NBA partnered with Yale University to help develop the new test, which also further protects essential workers collecting the test from contracting the virus.

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