The fear of myocarditis after football players contract Covid-19 is what led many college medical authorities to question how safe football may be in 2020, leading to postponements

Brady Feeney was diagnosed with Covid-19 and then with myocarditis

Photo: University of Indiana

… liability for destroying future NFL careers is major factor

Barry Alvarez is a former successful college football coach who loves the game and is now a college administrator in the Big Ten, and he was faced with a horrible predicament: Can you allow college athletes to participate in sports during a pandemic?

Alvarez said this in a video statement, acknowledging that the unknown about how the coronavirus may affect college athletes was the major factor in the Big Ten postponing its fall seasons,

“In the end, there were too many questions that we couldn't answer, and the doctors didn’t have answers and still were looking for those answers and felt it was important for us to finally make the decision not to play this fall,” Alvarez, whose Wisconsin Badgers is part of the Big Ten Conference, said in a video statement.

The decisions by athletic conferences on whether to play come as medical and science data pertaining to the coronavirus are constantly evolving; universities face huge financial losses by choosing not to play this fall, and the longstanding inequalities that exist in college sports are again part of the national debate — schools make billions of dollars from the entertainment that college athletes provide, yet those student-athletes receive no compensation and aren’t represented by a union.

Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach, “Heart condition linked with COVID-19 

fuels Power 5 concern about season's viability,” ESPN, August 10, 2020

Three of the top five conferences are going ahead like they are playing this fall, but whether or not they can make it through training camps that are just starting is another question. 

The one word that has frightened many is a simple one, but one that could end the athletic careers of football players who contract Covid-19: Myocarditis. 

What is myocarditis?

Myocarditis is not a common condition, but it has been found after individuals contract the coronavirus,

A rare heart condition that could be linked with the coronavirus is fueling concern among Power 5 conference administrators about the viability of college sports this fall.

Myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, has been found in at least five Big Ten Conference athletes and among several other athletes in other conferences, according to two sources with knowledge of athletes' medical care.

The condition is usually caused by a viral infection, including those that cause the common cold, H1N1 influenza or mononucleosis. Left undiagnosed and untreated, it can cause heart damage and sudden cardiac arrest, which can be fatal. It is a rare condition, but the COVID-19 virus has been linked with myocarditis with a higher frequency than other viruses, based on limited studies and anecdotal evidence since the start of the pandemic.

The concern has "made the bar higher" for returning to fall sports, said Dr. Jonathan Drezner, director of the University of Washington Medicine Center for Sports Cardiology and a sports medicine physician who advises the NCAA on cardiac issues, "and it could be we don't get there."

Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach, ESPN, August 10, 2020

The Big Ten and Pac-12 have postponed their fall sports to the spring, when they hope the Covid-19 pandemic may have subsided somewhat or a vaccine could be found. 

Brady Feeney situation caused major concern

The case of Indiana University incoming freshman lineman Brady Feeney was made clear last week as his mother posted his situation on Facebook. It quickly went viral and revealed what medical authorities learned in July about the big lineman,

Deborah Rucker didn’t know when she wrote a Facebook post Sunday about her son’s ordeal with COVID-19 that it would capture so much attention on social media. 

Rucker’s son, IU freshman offensive lineman Brady Feeney, tested positive for the virus during screening conducted by the program last month. 

He was isolated from his teammates and experienced breathing problems serious enough to warrant a visit to the emergency room. Indiana even paid for Rucker to come to Bloomington to be near Feeney — she could not physically be with him, per isolation protocols — while he recovered.

“After 14 days of hell battling the horrible virus, his school did additional testing on all those that were positive,” Rucker wrote. “My son even received extra tests because he was one of the worst cases. Now we are dealing with possible heart issues! He is still experiencing additional symptoms and his blood work is indicating additional problems.

“Bottom line, even if your son’s schools do everything right to protect them, they CAN’T PROTECT THEM!!”

Zach Osterman, “Viral Facebook post from IU football player's mom about son's 

COVID-19 issues serves as warning,” Indianapolis Star, Aug. 3, 2020

Feeney is a graduate of Christian Brothers College in St. Louis and started summer workouts with the Hoosiers as soon as they started this summer. He passed the entrance physical, but then was one of a few of Hoosiers to test positive with Covid when the entire team was tested in July. 

He was isolated for two weeks, but then was given a second physical to return to the team. That is when the myocarditis was discovered. His bloodwork indicated some problems, and that situation was one that officials discussed throughout the summer,

Conference officials and athletic directors told ESPN that the uncertainty about the long-term effects of myocarditis has been discussed in meetings of presidents and chancellors, commissioners and athletic directors, and health advisory board members from the Big Ten, Pac-12 and other conferences around the country …

"We're listening to doctors and scientists and continuing to prepare our schedule and prepare for the season," Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told The Dallas Morning News on Sunday. "And yet the last two or three weeks have not been good to us. You'd be less than forthright if you didn't acknowledge between the myocarditis and some of the other things that are new, it hasn't raised the concern level. But nothing has been decided at this point."

Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach, ESPN, Aug. 10, 2020

The Big 12 has allowed the go-ahead of the preseason practices as has the Southeastern Conference [SEC] and The Atlantic Coast Conference [ACC].

However, medical officials in the ACC are concerned about the myocarditis potential.

The cardiac potential was a factor for the physicians at the University of Virginia, which is a member of the ACC,

Dr. John MacKnight, the head primary care team physician at the University of Virginia, said that while questions about COVID-19 testing availability, turnaround time for results, and the impact of a possible community surge of cases have all been factors in deciding to return to competition, the long-term cardiac concerns for athletes may be the tipping point.

"We are collectively, as a sports nation, not quite ready to feel entirely comfortable with what that may look like for our young people down the line, and we are not going to put them in that situation," he said. MacKnight, who directs care for Virginia's athletes, and other school physicians are members of advisory groups that counsel universities and conferences on medical decisions.

MacKnight said "the likelihood the individual goes on to have myocardial complication is very low" in athletes who had no or very low-grade COVID-19 symptoms, but added that there needs to be more studies and data.

"There have been some concerns raised for that very reason: Do you not have uneasiness about having athletes participating knowing that you don't know what that longer-range outlook is? The answer is of course, yes," he said. "We don't have enough information to say this is the likelihood that this will or will not happen.

Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach, ESPN, Aug. 10, 2020

Boston Red Sox pitcher has myocarditis

In early August, an American League pitcher was told that he would miss the rest of the season because of the heart condition,

The Boston Red Sox announced Aug. 1 that pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez was diagnosed with myocarditis and would miss the rest of the season. He had tested positive for COVID-19 before the start of summer camp and had been allowed to return to practice July 18. But a cardiac MRI a week later revealed his condition.

Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach, ESPN, Aug. 10, 2020

Many of the college teams are doing a great deal of testing of the athletes to prevent this from occurring, but that is expensive and will tax their resources, which have often been depleted by Covid.

Sedrick Williams also has myocarditis

A lineman from the University of Houston has opted out of the 2020 season after having Covid and now myocarditis,

University of Houston defensive lineman Sedrick Williams announced on Facebook on Saturday that he was opting out of the 2020 season because of heart problems associated with COVID-19. Williams, a transfer from Kilgore College in Texas, tested positive in June and spent 14 days in quarantine.

"As a result of the virus, I've had complications with my heart and I really don't know the outcome or what's in store for me in the future," Williams wrote. "I just know that my life is more precious to me than football could ever be. I've decided to opt out of the 2020 football season due to these complications. I won't take this year for granted. I'm coming back bigger, faster and stronger than ever."

Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach, ESPN, Aug. 10, 2020

The disease may last well into 2021

Some experts believe that the coronavirus may be a problem for athletes well into 2021, hurting the Big Ten and Pac-12 ideas of having a spring football season,

“I think it’s probably a wise decision,” Dr. Dean Winslow, a Stanford University professor of medicine and infectious diseases expert, said of the decisions by some college conferences to suspend or postpone fall sports. “College sports, you have to put that within a larger context of the transmission of COVID-19 on university campuses. I think we are going to be dealing with COVID-19 well into the middle, if not most of 2021, as well as the rest of this year."

“No one is immune to serious complications from this disease,” added Winslow, who has been on the front lines this year treating COVID-19 patients. “It’s definitely a very serious pathogen.”

Christian Red, “Canceling college football is coming down 

to dollars and sense,” NBC News, Aug. 12, 2020

Conclusion

The fear of myocarditis and other medical unknowns are what drove most Div. I conferences to push off their seasons until the spring. The other danger is what happens when other students arrive on campus shortly. Will they contribute to the disease as they start to party?

Can college athletes be placed in a bubble? Of course not, which is why this becomes more complicated.

While the college athletes are more likely to recover from the disease than older people are, they can become carriers and infect entire campuses, which is the alarm sounded by university presidents this week.