Monday, August 3, 2020
Families fight for justice for five workers killed by wall collapse at UK Hawkeswood Metal recycling plant
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/03/shre-a03.html
By Tony Robson
3 August 2020
The families of five workers, killed four years ago at Hawkeswood Metal recycling in Birmingham when a wall collapsed in its storage yard, are still fighting for compensation and for the company to face criminal prosecution.
On July 7, 2016, five men, employed as agency staff on zero-hour contracts, were buried under the debris of a collapsed concrete wall and metal in the storage yard of the recycling centre in the Nechells area of Birmingham, owned by ShredMet Ltd.
Ingots of scrap metal had been stored in the adjacent bay, piled at double the recommended height. The wall consisted of interlocking concrete blocks without any mortar and had no foundation. It had been loaded on one side with 263 tonnes of metal, resulting in a collapse bringing the metal and concrete crashing down on the workers cleaning a storage bay.
All the victims died of blunt force injuries. The combined weight of the metal and concrete was the equivalent of 15 double decker buses. The work of retrieving the bodies from the wreckage took the emergency services several days.
Four of the men were from Gambia—Almamo Jammeh, 45, Bangally Dukuray 55, Saibo Sillah,42 and Muhamadou Jagana, 49. The fifth was from Senegal, Ousmane Diaby, 39. A sixth man from Gambia, Tombong Conteh, was the only survivor. He sustained a major injury to his leg, which has restricted his mobility ever since and has been unable to work.
The men came to the UK as Spanish nationals after they were no longer able to find regular employment in Spain. Birmingham is home to a community of around 10,000 from Gambia. For their work at the recycling centre the men received just over the minimum wage and from this meagre pay they sent remittances home to their families. According to one estimate in 2017, a fifth of Gambia’s GDP consisted of such remittances.
To this day, the bereaved families have not even received interim compensation from the company, adding financial hardship to the grief of losing their loved ones.
The inquest into the fatal workplace incident held in November 2018 came to a verdict of accidental death, even though the wall collapse was described as a “foreseeable risk”. The jury found that the risk had not been identified and it “caused or contributed to” the loss of life of each of the men.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigator Paul Cooper stated categorically that the risk of the wall collapse could have been identified and it would have in fact been “common sense”. The inquest also heard from the health and safety officer employed by the company that he had no knowledge of the wall, what its purpose was and how long it had been there. It had not been risk assessed and neither had the activities concerning clearing out the bays by workers in its vicinity.
The HSE, which has been in charge of the criminal investigation, has failed to bring charges against ShredMet Ltd. It has reneged on its commitment to announce its decision on whether to prosecute by the time of the fourth anniversary of the fatal incident.
ShredMet Ltd had been found guilty of health and safety violations at the site prior to the wall collapse, the biggest loss of life at a recycling plant in the UK. In 2012, the company was fined £50,000 in relation to a worker whose arm became trapped in machinery. The HSE did not conduct any subsequent inspections.
In February 2016, there was a large fire at the site after 100 tonnes of shredded scrap metal went up in flames. The waste and recycling industry is one of the most dangerous sectors to work in the UK, with 16 times more fatalities in 2017/18 than the average across all industry, according to the HSE.
The bereaved families decided to mark the fourth anniversary with a public protest outside the recycling plant. A statement issued by the families explains:
“On 7 July 2020, it will be the fourth anniversary of the deaths of our husbands and the fathers of our children. The anniversary should be a day to remember our husbands and to reflect on our loss with our families. This will not be possible as we continue to have justice and accountability for the deaths of our loved ones denied; we remain without any compensation and we are made to wait longer for a decision as to whether those responsible will be held to account. We cannot grieve and move on.
“Instead, we will mark the anniversary of their deaths by holding a public protest outside the gates of Shredmet recycling centre, where our husbands were killed.”
In reference to the failure of the HSE to bring charges it continues:
“We cannot understand the delay as it is obvious that the company failed to protect our loved ones. The Inquest, which was held two years ago, showed the inexcusable and gross failings of the company which led to the deaths of our loved ones on 7 July 2016.
“This delay cannot be allowed to continue. We hope that our protest will show that we have not forgotten what happened, and we will not allow society to forget. We demand recognition for what happened to our husbands.”
In their fight for justice, the families have had to wage a struggle with the support mainly from their friends, local community, and public appeals. Two crowd funding appeals raised thousands of pounds towards funeral expenses and other support to the families, as well as legal costs. This struggle has been waged independently of the Labour Party and trade unions, who must take primary responsibility for the isolation of the brave resistance they have shown.
Labour MP for Ladywood, Shabana Mahmoud, has gone no further than issuing pro forma letters of protest to the government and HSE, which she acknowledges have produced zero results.
The Labour Party and trade unions are preoccupied with supporting the Johnson government’s homicidal return to work policy under conditions of a resurgence of the pandemic. They are prepared to prop up a government responsible for the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in Europe and has transformed workplaces across the country into a breeding ground for the virus, in which workers have been denied protection and live with the constant fear of infection and death.
The Socialist Equality Party calls on all workers to support the fight of the families of the five workers killed at the Hawkswood recycling plant, as part of a broader struggle to end the corporate criminality which is being intensified by the pandemic, based upon the calculation that workers lives are expendable but wealth accumulation is sacrosanct.
Vietnam struggles to contain rapid resurgence of COVID-19
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/03/viet-a03.html
By Owen Howell
3 August 2020
The unexpected emergence of a coronavirus cluster in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang has led to a rapid transmission across the country. Though previously lauded as a “success story” in the international press, having recorded no new local infections for 99 days, Vietnam has now detected cases in the capital, Hanoi, as well as Ho Chi Minh City, and throughout the Central Highlands region.
The first new case appeared in Da Nang Hospital on July 25, before the virus spread through the building, resulting in 15 confirmed cases over the next three days. The source of the cluster apparently remains unknown, though some government officials have claimed it originated outside the country. Vietnam has remained shut to most foreign travellers since late March.
The Health Ministry has registered 173 local cases since the new outbreak began, 120 of which were found in Da Nang. Besides the country’s two major cities, the virus has reached the provinces of Quang Nam, Thai Binh, Quang Ngai, Dak Lak, Dong Nai, and Ha Nam.
With 29 local cases discovered yesterday, the tally has grown to 620 infections, as well as five deaths, all of which were recorded since Friday. The victims were all elderly with pre-existing medical conditions.
Local newspaper Thanh Nien revealed the most recent death was an 86-year-old woman who suffered heart and kidney failure. She was admitted to Da Nang Hospital on July 16 and then transferred to a hospital in Quang Nam two days later. This suggests that she contracted COVID-19 in Da Nang at least one week before the first case was confirmed, and therefore that the virus had been circulating in the hospital undetected for a considerable time.
Nearly all of the cases last week were people above the age of 60. However, the 29 cases yesterday included a number of asymptomatic young people, including a 23-year-old health worker and four children below the age of 14. Due to the abrupt and widespread nature of the transmission, medical experts believe the real infection numbers may be far higher than the official figures.
Da Nang, a seaside resort, is a popular holiday destination for Vietnamese tourists on summer vacation. Since early July, over 800,000 people have visited Da Nang. The Vietnamese government fears that tens of thousands of tourists leaving the city after the cluster emerged could cause a disastrous transmission across the country.
On Wednesday, four days after the first case, a lockdown was established and checkpoints set up to prevent people from leaving or entering the city. Thousands of national police and military personnel were deployed in Da Nang, state-run paper Nhan Dan reported. By this time, however, thousands had already left the new pandemic epicentre.
Ho Chi Minh City had recorded 18,000 people returning from Da Nang on Tuesday. Hanoi has received around 54,000 returnees since July 25. Over 21,000 of these are suspected COVID-19 carriers waiting to be tested, as the city’s testing capacity is as yet unable to meet the large requirements.
Vietnam has 118 testing laboratories, of which only 66 are capable of testing samples for coronavirus. The nation’s capacity is 31,000 tests per day—a marginal increase on April’s average of 27,000 a day. But unless it dramatically expands, the testing could soon prove inadequate as the virus surges through a densely populated country of 97.3 million people.
In Da Nang, hospitals and health centres are fast reaching full capacity. Recently, a makeshift coronavirus hospital was installed inside a soccer stadium. The government has sent a contingent of more than 1,000 health workers to Da Nang.
Partial lockdown measures are being implemented in areas where coronavirus cases are appearing. Local authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have placed an apartment building under lockdown since Friday, as two residents had returned from Da Nang and were suspected to have the virus. The building houses 328 residents, but only 26 have been tested.
Tran Van Tan, Vice Chairman of Quang Nam province, imposed blockades on several rural villages and urban neighbourhoods, most of them overcrowded working-class districts. These include the Luu Minh residential area, in Thang Binh district, with 96 households and 384 people. Ostensibly under lockdown because of three confirmed cases there, no testing has yet been organised. With social distancing all but impossible in such locations, they will inevitably become incubators for the virus to grow.
It is now over a week since the Da Nang cluster surfaced, yet the Vietnamese government is reluctant to close businesses and halt production, despite the rapid spread of the virus.
Hanoi has closed its bars and roadside stalls and banned large gatherings. Restaurants and shopping malls, on the other hand, are permitted to remain open. Factories and other large-scale production facilities will continue to operate.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s warned on Wednesday that every province and every city was at risk. “We have to act more swiftly and more fiercely in order to control the outbreak,” Phuc told an online conference of government officials.
Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Bguyen Thien Nan also expressed concern that the situation is becoming far worse than the country’s first wave of infections, pointing to similar resurgences in Italy, Hong Kong, and Australia.
After suspending international travel on March 22, and introducing restrictions, Vietnam appeared to have contained the coronavirus. Like its counterparts in other countries, the government pushed ahead with a reopening policy to reverse the economic damage, particularly focussing on the revival of domestic tourism.
On June 1, the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism launched a new program aimed at galvanizing domestic tourist demand. The result was that people flocked to Da Nang from June onward, drawn by discounted flights, hotel bookings, and travel deals.
As with other Southeast Asian nations, Vietnam is heavily dependent on its tourist sector. The renewed spread of the virus is being viewed by the government primarily as a setback to their plans to reopen international travel and address the slowing economy.
In a report released on Thursday, the World Bank assessed that Vietnam’s economy would grow at around 2.8 percent in 2020, its slowest rate in 35 years and significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels. This finding, moreover, was based upon the situation before the resurgence in Da Nang.
Desperate to reverse the slowing economy, Prime Minister Phuc on Saturday approved the development of the country’s “night-time economy.” It will allow non-essential activities to occur overnight in major tourism zones and cities, many of which have witnessed new COVID-19 cases. Night markets, discos, karaoke parlours, retail stores, public transport, and other services are expected to generate profits unimpeded, despite the immense risk of accelerating the spread.
Hong Kong delays legislative elections amid crackdown on democratic rights
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/03/hong-a03.html?pk_campaign=newsletter&pk_kwd=wsws
By Ben McGrath
3 August 2020
One month after Beijing passed its new national security law for Hong Kong, authorities have stepped up their attack on democratic rights in the city, including by announcing that they would postpone September’s Legislative Council (LegCo) elections for one year. Opposition activists and politicians have also been barred from running for office and some have faced arrest.
On Friday, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced she would use the 1922 British colonial-era Emergency Regulations Ordinance to delay the upcoming legislative election citing the danger posed by a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. Lam stated it was necessary to “ensure fairness and public safety and health and the need to make sure the election is held in an open, fair, and impartial manner.”
Lam, whose decision was backed by Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, absurdly claimed, “This postponement is entirely made based on public safety reasons, there were no political considerations.”
The number of COVID-19 cases have grown sharply in Hong Kong throughout July, including a record high 149 new patients last Thursday. Lam’s assertions, however, are simply untrue. In local elections last November, the official opposition grouped around the pan-democrat bloc took control of 17 of 18 local councils, winning 390 out of 452 available seats. The opposition again hoped to capitalise on widespread anger towards the government to win a majority in the LegCo.
Prior to its postponement, Hong Kong authorities also banned 12 opposition candidates from running in the election. This included well-known activist Joshua Wong and other younger candidates. Four members of the pan-democrat Civic Party were also banned.
The authorities outlined the sweeping grounds on which candidates would be barred, effectively making any opposition illegitimate. These include: promoting Hong Kong independence, soliciting the intervention of foreign powers, expressing opposition to the new national security law, or being deemed likely to vote against government bills to press for their demands.
On Wednesday, four students were also arrested in the first police operation under the new national security law. “Our sources and investigation show that the group recently announced on social media to set up an organization that advocates Hong Kong independence,” said Li Kwai-wah of the new national security unit inside the Hong Kong police.
The four were connected to a group called Studentlocalism, which advocated Hong Kong independence before being disbanded in June. Tony Chung, a former leader of the group, was accused of “inciting secession” through a Facebook post.
Beijing is not primarily concerned about the establishment pan-democrat opposition grouping in Hong Kong but rather the potential for renewed protests against the attack on democratic rights and the deteriorating social conditions. Last summer’s mass protests by legislation allowing extradition to China drew in millions of people concerned about Beijing’s undermining of democratic rights and deteriorating social conditions. While the movement was hijacked by opposition parties and figures calling for the intervention of US and British imperialism, none of the underlying issues have been resolved.
Hong Kong ranks as the sixth most unequal city in the world. It is home to 64 billionaires while the broad masses struggle to survive with low paid jobs, stagnant and declining wages, widespread poverty, and lack of access to safe, affordable housing.
These conditions are replicated throughout China. In May, an estimated 80 million Chinese workers did not have employment, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and an additional 600 million workers earned just $140 a month. Beijing ultimately fears that renewed protests in Hong Kong will resonate with the rest of the Chinese working class and lead to an explosion of social anger, threatening the Chinese Communist Party’s hold on power.
Beijing is also concerned that the United States will foster separatist sentiment in Hong Kong and also exploit the protests to ramp up its aggressive confrontation with China.
Washington’s concern for democratic rights is utterly hypocritical. Even as Trump was suggesting that the US elections could be delayed, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany condemned the decision to postpone the Hong Kong election, declaring that it “undermines the democratic processes and freedoms.”
In a speech on July 23, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a keynote speech that denounced the Chinese Communist Party in Cold War terms as a “tyranny” and a threat to the “free world” that had to be stopped. The condemnation of China and its police state methods comes as the Trump administration is trampling on democratic rights including through the dispatch of federal agents to violently suppress protests in Portland and other cities.
Two days prior to his speech, Pompeo was with Nathan Law, another prominent Hong Kong activist in London at the residence of the US ambassador to the United Kingdom. Pompeo was reportedly “very keen” on meeting with Law, and discussed not only Hong Kong but also Tibet and Xinjiang where the US has also been encouraging separatist groups.
The Trump administration is not concerned about democratic rights in Hong Kong or anywhere else in China. Rather it is mounting another of its phoney “human rights” campaigns as a pretext for its escalating conflict with China.
Any fight to defend democratic and social rights in Hong Kong must involve a turn to the working class throughout China on the basis of a struggle for genuine socialism against the Beijing regime that is responsible for restoring capitalism and represents the interests of the ultra-rich oligarchy.
COVID-19 “state of disaster” imposed across Australian state of Victoria
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/03/disa-a03.html
By Patrick O’Connor
3 August 2020
The state Labor Party government in Victoria announced yesterday that in response to spiralling coronavirus infections, it was imposing a “state of disaster” for at least six weeks across the state, including a curfew between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. for Melbourne, Victoria’s capital.
Sweeping “Stage 4” measures in Melbourne include a five-kilometre limit on people’s movements, additional restrictions on leaving one’s residence, a shift to online learning for school students, restrictions on access to kindergartens and child care centres, a ban on weddings and maximum participation of five people in religious services, and a ban on all sporting and recreational activities. Restaurants and pubs are takeaway only, and some other services have been restricted, with food courts, beauty salons, and saunas among the venues closed.
Further restrictions were due to be announced today, including the possible closure of some workplaces and new restrictions on selected industries.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton characterised the measures as “shock and awe.”
Regional Victoria has been placed under the somewhat less restrictive “Stage 3,” which does not involve a curfew or travel limits, but restricts the permissible reasons for leaving residences. Throughout the state, wearing masks or face coverings in public is mandatory.
The unprecedented measures imposed represent an indictment of the federal Liberal-National government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Victorian Labor government of Premier Daniel Andrews.
The Australian ruling class failed to take the necessary preventive measures from the beginning of the pandemic, did not invest the public health resources required for mass testing and contact tracing, and throughout the emergency prioritised the demands of business over the safety of the population.
In April, Morrison and every state premier, Labor and Liberal, rejected epidemiological advice on how coronavirus infections could be eliminated. They instead insisted that a safe level of infection could be managed, and in May began to lift the limited restrictions that had been put in place.
The outcome has been a public health disaster. Yesterday Andrews effectively acknowledged that authorities had lost control over coronavirus community transmission.
On Sunday, the state recorded its second-highest daily total of 671 new cases, together with seven deaths, taking Victoria’s COVID-19 death toll to 153. Today another 429 cases were reported. In neighbouring New South Wales, infections are much lower but appear to trending upward. Today 13 new infections were reported, and Premier Gladys Berejiklian called for residents to be on “extra high alert.”
There are 760 active COVID-19 cases in Victoria that Andrews described as “mystery” infections—health authorities are investigating the cases but still have no idea where and how people caught the virus. An unknown number of other cases remain undetected.
Only around 20,000 to 35,000 daily tests have been done in Victoria over the past two months, though the state has a population of 6.4 million. At no point in the pandemic have preparations been made to test every resident of Melbourne, as has been done in other cities internationally, for example in Wuhan, China and Danang, Vietnam.
Medical scientists have demanded greater transparency with testing and infection data in Victoria. University of Melbourne epidemiologist John Mathews told the Age: “The first question is what data do the government actually have? Because they haven’t really told us.” Many tests are being sent interstate due to inadequate infrastructure in Victoria. Mathews added that he believed delays in processing tests are a significant factor in the coronavirus spread.
Mary-Louise McLaws, professor of epidemiology at the University of New South Wales and adviser to the World Health Organisation, called for public investment in screening clinics and laboratories, including hiring more trained staff, so that people with COVID-19 symptoms did not have to wait days for test results.
A “state of disaster” has been declared only once before, at the beginning of this year during the bushfire crisis. That only applied, however, for several days, and to affected parts of regional Victoria.
The latest declaration gives the government and the police powers far beyond those of the existing “state of emergency,” though that remains in place. Under the Emergency Management Act, in a “state of disaster” the government can suspend any act of parliament or regulation deemed to “inhibit response to or recovery from the disaster” and issue directions that prevail over any legislation or law. All government agencies are subject to directives from the emergency services minister. Police and emergency services personnel have the authority to order evacuations and seize property.
No explanation was provided for the need for the virtually unlimited powers handed to the police and other authorised officers. Police Minister Lisa Neville yesterday declared that police would prohibit all protests.
The state Labor government, like its counterparts throughout Australia, has sought to avoid placing any restrictions on the activities of corporations amid the pandemic. This is despite the fact that 80 percent of all coronavirus infections in Melbourne have occurred within workplaces.
Low-wage and highly-casualised industries are among the worst affected. This includes the aged care sector, the meatworks industry and warehouses, where workers have been kept on the job by governments with the assistance of the trade unions.
The working class is beginning to take action in response. Around 45 meat workers at the JBS abattoir in Brooklyn, a western suburb of Melbourne, organised a stopwork meeting last Tuesday to discuss safety provisions in the plant. The following day, 35 workers at the Spotless commercial laundry in South Dandenong, another suburb, refused to turn up for their shifts, following an outbreak of COVID-19 at the facility.
Earlier today, about 240 warehouse workers at the Woolworths Liquor Distribution Centre in Laverton, western Melbourne, took strike action. A worker tested positive on Friday, but the grocery corporate giant refused to close the warehouse and instead attempted to maintain normal operations.
Such initiatives need to be taken forward by other sections of workers, with the organisation of rank-and-file action and safety committees, completely independent of the pro-corporate unions, now a life and death question. These committees, democratically controlled by workers themselves should formulate, oversee and enforce safety and workplace standards. Where conditions are violated, there must be a stoppage of work.
Major League Baseball season on brink of collapse as COVID-19 continues to spread
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/03/mlb-a03.html
By Alan Gilman
3 August 2020
Major League Baseball’s (MLB) season began on July 23 and has already been forced to postpone 17 games due to COVID-19 outbreaks. As many as 21 members of the Miami Marlins, including 18 players (or 60 percent of its game day roster), tested positive for the coronavirus last week. Over the weekend, multiple St. Louis Cardinals players and staffers tested positive as well, along with at least two staffers on the Philadelphia Phillies.
These teams cannot play until their remaining players test negative for at least three to four days. Although MLB tests all of its players and staff every two days, because of delays in testing results a positive case can go up to four days before being diagnosed.
The infected teams, their recent opponents and their upcoming opponents all have to postpone their games. Fully 20 percent of MLB’s weekend games, which typically receive the highest viewerships, have had to be postponed.
MLB’s plan has been to play a shortened season, originally consisting of 60 games played over 66 days. To make up for these postponed games MLB intends to schedule multiple double headers with the standard nine inning games being reduced to seven. Playing so many games in such a short period significantly increases the risk of injuries to players, particularly pitchers.
On Friday Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred told MLB Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark that if the sport does not do a better job of managing the coronavirus, it could shut down for the season. According to official guidelines, Manfred has the sole discretion to suspend the season.
The almost immediate collapse of MLB’s return to play exposes the absurdity of attempting to play professional sports in the midst of the most serious public health crisis in modern history.
The multibillions of dollars that are at stake have certainly played an important role in MLB’s reckless decisions. But more is at stake than the revenue streams for team owners.
The reopening of sports leagues is part of the broader return-to-work drive by the entire ruling class and is an attempt to “normalize” the pandemic, even as over 1,000 Americans continue to die each day.
But if MLB, in spite of billions in resources, is unable even to protect the health of a relatively small number of mostly young adults in peak physical condition, this campaign will receive a serious blow. There can be no doubt that MLB is under intense political pressure behind the scenes to not abandon the season.
By Saturday Manfred was shifting the blame to the players. “The players need to be better, but I am not a quitter in general, and there is no reason to quit now. We have had to be fluid, but it is manageable.”
In reality, MLB's “safety protocols” were always grossly inadequate and doomed to failure, and public health experts have stated so. Although these protocols require daily temperature checks, regular testing, and sanitization of club houses, MLB declined to set up a quarantine “bubble” similar to other US sports leagues. Instead, games are being played without audiences in teams’ normal venues, leaving players and staff at high risk of contracting the virus as they travel.
The fact that a central element of the “protocols” is the near-doubling of roster sizes and the establishment of “taxi squads” of replacements for road trips demonstrates that league’s primary concern was not preventing outbreaks, but that suitable replacements could be found to play games in spite of outbreaks.
The fact that the Miami Marlins elected to play their scheduled game against the Philadelphia Phillies last Sunday, in spite of having four confirmed cases already on their roster, testifies to the lack of any independent decision-making process led by medical experts.
Moreover MLB has no qualms about the risk that players are compelled to assume as they travel to and from Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles, three Major League cities that currently have among the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world.
Before the season began, 18 players opted out of playing the season out of concern for their own health and those of their families. This weekend they were joined by three others, Isan Diaz of the Miami Marlins, Lorenzo Cain of the Milwaukee Brewers, and Yoenis Cespedes of the New York Mets. Also on Sunday, Cincinnati Reds All-Star first baseman Joey Votto was placed on the injury list after reporting COVID-19 symptoms.
Eduardo Rodriguez, a 27-year-old pitcher of the Boston Red Sox, has developed lingering complications from the coronavirus and will sit out the season. Even though he had tested positive on July 7 and recovered in time to join the team for spring training, a routine physical revealed he had developed myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart. Recent studies have shown that a large percentage of recovered COVID-19 patients have suffered from heart inflammation, including myocarditis.
Rodriguez told the press last month that he felt about “100 years old” with the virus. “I’ve never been that sick in my life,” he added, “and I don’t want to get that sick again.” The fact that a pro athlete in peak physical condition could develop such severe symptoms exposes claims that only the elderly and infirm are at risk.
The problems plaguing baseball are also appearing in football as the National Football League (NFL) and college football open training camps.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed to a plan that allows players to opt out of the upcoming season if they are uncomfortable with the COVID-19 health protocols put in place. High-risk individuals could opt out and receive a $350,000 stipend, less than the minimum salary for rookies, whereas those less at risk would receive a $150,000 stipend. Players have the ability to opt out later in the season, as well, in the event that a family member becomes sick.
So far 39 players have opted out, including eight from the New England Patriots. Many opted out last week after witnessing the debacle in MLB. Instead of attempting to address the justified fears of its players, the NFL is attempting to stop the flow of players opting out by imposing a Wednesday deadline, by when they can exercise this option.
There are also over 60 NFL players on what the league describes as Reserve/COVID-19 list. This category includes players who have tested positive or have been in close contact with someone who has. This present list includes two starting quarterbacks, Mathew Strafford of the Detroit Lions and Gardner Minshew of the Jacksonville Jaguars. According to the NFL, these players have to remain apart from the team until they are “healthy.”
Far more dangerous is the situation facing college football players. Most small college programs will not be playing, but the multibillion-dollar business of major college football is scheduled to start later this month.
As college training camps open, many teams have reported significant numbers of players testing positive. Moreover, these amateur “student-athletes” are being brought back to campuses where in most cases the student body will remain at home for some or all of the semester. Many players and their parents have complained about the hypocrisy of having them continue to play and travel while it is deemed too unsafe for other students to be on campus.
Among college players there is growing opposition to these plans. A group of football players from the PAC-12, the West Coast Conference containing major programs such as UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford, and Oregon, wrote a letter to the conference declaring that they would opt out of fall camp and games unless the league meets several demands.
These include allowing players the option to opt out without losing athletics eligibility or a spot on their team’s roster, prohibiting or voiding all agreements that waive liability for the conference and its schools and player-approved health and safety standards enforced by a third parties.
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