Team will stay in Orlando for an undisclosed amount of time. They will not play games for a host of reasons. (1) There are reports that other clubs wanted Dallas out of the tourney; they'd done what was needed to not have an outbreak and didn't want a club who hadn't risking their status. Don't be surprised if this now happens to Nashville (up to 8 +'s) and ironically would fix the now terrible mess the bracket is in by Dallas leaving. (2) it's probable what finally triggered the exit was a new set of positive results - which would have fallen into the infection window that would suggest people exposed AFTER arriving in Orlando. Meaning, it was likely to only get worse. (3) There are some suggestions that the healthy players were beginning to get fed up and didn't want to play because it'd been so long since they last trained - Hunt alluded to this in his video conference yesterday (4) there's also a good chance that those that had tested positive may have begun to show symptoms, not improve or get worse in terms of their level of sickness. What's clear is something didn't happen is Dallas' group that didn't in the other clubs. After Jesus turned up positive in early June, the Hunts and Luchi should have put the team into full lockdown - but they didn't and someone(s) went out and played loose and fast and was exposed and brought it back inside the lockeroom, then the plane, and then those first two days of training in Orlando. Dan keeps pointing out they did three tests before leaving, but its now clear that was a poor plan since those tests were done in a compressed time that allowed someone or someones to get exposed within that time frame and not build a viral load that would result in a positive test - that takes (generally 5-7 days, some people 14). I particularly take issue with Don Garber's suggestion that their plan "worked" and that they prevented Dallas' infection to "get within the bubble". What crap. It totally made its way into the bubble and now has f'd up their tourney. Blame lies across the board: the players, the coaching staff, the owners and the league. This is a goofy mess, and of course happened to FC Dallas.
To be honest, I’m not sure that the Hunts and Luchi could’ve done anything like putting the team in full lockdown. They don’t own the players and everything that they do with respect to the players is governed by the CBA. If the Hunts had tried to lock everyone else down, they might’ve been on the business end of a grievance from the MLSPA. It was something that the players were going to have to manage themselves as professionals with encouragement from veteran players and coaches. It probably won’t come as any shock if we find out later that a team full of very young players had a few that couldn’t handle that professional responsibility. My understanding is that the testing regime has been done by one company league-wide, meaning that if there are any issues with respect to timing, it likely would be something that could catch other teams. However, one thing that is variable between the teams is how the test is administered. Apparently, the league’s plan “working” means “letting a team with a lot of cases stay in the bubble for five days and postponing their first match before sending that team home (eventually) after other teams’ players threaten a revolt.” Like you said, a load of crap.
it's pretty clear other clubs somehow managed their rosters from a club wide outbreak. We've heard from more than one source that Luchi was "pissed" as tests came back and anyone can go take a gander at the various social media of those on the roster and pretty easily spot different members "out and about" and very much NOT social distancing in the days/weeks prior to leaving. Just to refresh everyone... The initial positive test, Jesus, back on 6/3 came not because of protocol, but because he started not feeling well. They were not testing back when they started training, which at the time was a shock. That should have been all it took to get the players to shape up and over compensate in terms of attending to their own care. While the CBA/MLSPA may have prevented a group isolation, when your team makes up 90% of entirety of the league's positive tests, that says something about how your org is run, or how you managed your group of young men.
As someone who has no idea who tested positive and who has been out and about, I’m going on the assumption that the source of the outbreak on the team was one of the young players, largely because I’m a middle-aged Gen Xer who has seen countless media reports of Those Darn Kids out partying. (I’m also going on the assumption that the source of THIS outbreak wasn’t Jesus Ferreira since he had it a month ago and probably had the fear of God put into him subsequently.) As such, I’m putting the blame for all this on Luchi and the veteran team leaders, who could’ve exercised a great deal of influence over those players even outside of what’s governed by the CBA and made it clear to them that if they screw this up, they’re risking their careers. But then, maybe there’s not much they could’ve done. It’s one thing to threaten a young player’s career on another team where they’re easily-replaceable cogs. What are you going to tell Pax? Or Jesus? Or Brandon? Or Reggie? Of course, I’ve written all that and it’ll turn out that the guy who screwed up and caused the outbreak was a vet. But seriously, it only takes one player to cause an outbreak, and sadly, we support a team full of players who belong to the age demographic known for not making good decisions.
Even the "veterans" in professional sports are still in their 20s, with rare exception. They're young, invincible, and they frequently share the same space and equipment. Back in my agent days, our prospects (who didn't know each other and played on different teams) would frequently even share food. Young athletes share a LOT of germs. If anybody is going to keep them from doing so, it would have to be mandated from the coaching or training staff.
True, true. I was thinking more about the thirtysomethings on the team, the guys with a little more maturity.
Better if he screams at them in Swiss! I read on Buzz's twitter that there was some stupidity on the food servers at the hotel when they first got there. There were going across floors or teams or something like that. FCD might have been a sort of guinea pig here too as one of the first scheduled to play and therefore to travel. The league cleaned up the mess before other teams got there in a lot of cases. They also might have just been unlucky in no one tested positive before the flight and did during the flight. They do need to take some responsibility here though as just bad luck isn't responsible for everything. Also why it's good to have a mix of veterans and youth.
There's still so much unknown about how this virus spreads, it's hard to lay too much blame anywhere (unless something is painfully obvious).
There is so much we do not know about the virus but the basics we do know. I will not place blame on anyone person. There is a lot of blame going on that players did not behave responsibly if they became positive. People don’t understand the basic principle of a contagious virus. If you have a single positive person, and they train with contact....it will be difficult to halt. The MLS had a lot of GAPS in their protocol and I was not there but they made no sense to me. FCD tested MWF for atleast 2 weeks prior to leaving. It was more than just 3 tests prior to leaving. Sure tests are not always correct and it can take a while for a positive to show. I am not sure which EXPERTS the MLS consulted with but I question if their hired board certified infectious disease experts to come up with these protocols or were they personal doctors of the MLS owners who have no expertise in these areas other than catering to the rich in famous. In my medical practice, if someone tests positive...they are gone for 2 weeks immediately. To return you must have 2 negative tests. This was not protocol. I have no tackling going on in my office. So to have a protocol that you could test positive and practice in a contact sport if you are asymptomatic until the second test was confirmation positive is highly questionable. There was an assumption of testing error, which does happen. However if positive you have now exposed the entire team. That is a poor protocol. Unfortunately FCD was a guinea pig and the MLS seems to have fixed this. However this is bad advice from the get go. Any idiot should have figured this out for the safety of the team. Where is the MLSPA? I know this was rushed but did the MLSPA run it by their own expert? Do they have a responsibility to these players? They should have paid money for that. We are talking player health. I feel bad for Luchi and the players. Perhaps if it were a different team with name like Vela, Chicharito, etc....it would be a very different response. Players would not be in hotel rooms for 8 days before walking outside and taking days before determining a plan to get them home. This is not good enough from the league. Yes, there is player responsibility, but there is so much more. This all seems rushed and poorly done.
I don't know if "rushed" is the right word. It's been several weeks in the making, and other organizations (mostly health-related like hospitals and doctors' offices) are getting it right. So it CAN be done quickly. I think you're on the money when you said "poorly," though. The MLS bubble always seemed to me to be pretty porous. Not like interacting-normally-with-the-public porous, but not hermetically sealed either. And if the virus got into the bubble, there was very little to keep it from spreading within the bubble. Bringing the teams in from the outside at the last minute before games were to begin was the wrong call, IMO, and that may be what you meant by "rushed." To be fair, though, even if it spreads within the bubble, it should mostly STAY within the bubble. The players, trainers, and coaches are mostly low-risk folks. Even if they are infected, the risk of any long-term injuries or death is extremely low. And while the bubble is porous, it should still be fairly effective at containing any infection within its boundaries since the infected personnel can be legit quarantined on site. I'm bummed that FCD is out of the tournament, but I'm not blaming anybody in particular for the team being a mini hot spot.
Hmmm, this could get interesting. There’s a lot of unfounded accusations flying around from people like @TaylorTwellman....does nothing but make an already difficult situation that much harder for our players and staff. https://t.co/f6CIMYppz7— Tracy Coleman (@TracyColemanATC) July 9, 2020 Grant Wahl did the same thing. Sources with knowledge of the situation tell me other MLS teams wanted FC Dallas out of the bubble tournament after not doing what was necessary to be virus-free and ready to play. Similar feelings about Nashville right now.— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) July 7, 2020
Wait... are you suggesting that MLS' protocol was to wait for a second positive test before isolating a player? That seems bad.
I think it could have been done well. It could have be done with all the teams. I know the players did not want to be away from families for a prolonged time. However with the uncontrolled cases around the country, a prolonged quarantine is really the only way to do it safely. The time to do the tournament was like a month earlier or more before everything fully opened. Get them in the bubble. It is too late now and a lot of hard work has to restart. Yes they are healthy athletes but 2 weeks sitting on your butt a lot of work to get in shape.
Well there are 2 ways you can view it. Testing is highly inaccurate we know. If someone tests positive and is asymptomatic....it could be a false positive. So some will call this inconclusive. Don’t know the exact protocol that MLS was using but it did not seem like it was ‘wrong’ to train. A second test was required and if this also was positive then that is a confirmed positive and you must pull the player. The problem is ...that player just trained in a contact sport with others and infected them. Kinda silly. If a player was positive and symptomatic..well that is a no-brained right? We all know that many are asymptomatic. So anyone with a positive symptomatic or asymptomatic should have been pulled and further testing. People also don’t understand it can take 2 weeks to show positive after that exposure. So this is why positives are showing up so late. It is easy to get, even if you are responsible. These players have families. Fans forget that. They have to shop, they may have family members who work or caring for children or parents. Life happens. In the COVID world if you are ‘inconclusive’ assume you are positive until proven negative regardless of symptoms.
I have not paid attention to exactly how long players quarantined before leaving and or while in Orlando, but isn’t it also possible that a player could have done everything right but become infected by a housemate, roommate, or family member who was not vigilant in mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing?
Pomykal rumors. 1285286958869225479 is not a valid tweet id Changes forced by covid and especially for FCD could have changed the plan for Pax. He thought he would contribute a lot this year but I'm not sure the team hasn't been jobbed out of 9 points by the other teams who didn't want to play them. IF FCD had enough healthy those teams should have forfeited not us. Now the season is resembling a shambles and those on the cusp of moves may be ready to pull the plug.
So lots of rumors the Covid Cup could start this Friday at Frisco. Three games against fellow scofflaw Nashville before the regular season restarts. FCD goes from being close to being docked a possible nine points to playing three games against perhaps the worst team in the league. If they can get nine points it will be huge at the end of the season. Of course these are always the type of games FCD struggles against. They will be heavy favorites, the other team will bunker and force FCD to break them down which they have a hard time doing.
the current word is there will be two games Dallas next week. there are working dates for each game 12/13th and 16/18th. It seems the 3rd game, in Nashville, will be dumped into the rest of the season once it resumes after 8/22. There is zero word if fans will be allowed to attend, where it will be broadcasted and as with all current day things - is totally up in the air and subject to change.
And we're back... 08/12 vs Nashville 08/16 vs Nashville 08/21 @ Houston 08/26 vs Colorado 08/29 vs Minnesota 09/2 @ KC 09/9 @ Minnesota 09/14 vs Houston Fans will be allowed at the home games.
Not sure if fans will be allowed or not. Supposedly Garber hadn't signed off on it. I signed up to go and expected confirmation today but not a peep. The game is on Wednesday and no fan yet knows if they are going.
I'm so excited to see all of the online complaints that people can't watch the game because their streaming service doesn't carry TX21, they don't have a OTA or both.
Folks should check out locast.org. It's a non-profit service that runs on donations that streams local channels over the internet. They're in D/FW and they carry TXA 21.
Interesting article about the life of FC Dallas players quarantining in Orlando. https://sports.yahoo.com/life-in-qu...am-endured-a-covid-19-outbreak-141309953.html