Corona Files: The Horse Beating Shall Continue Until the Jockeys Learn Their Lessons

I have thoughts about the following, a typically thoughtful offering from our colleague in name but not yet in technical fact (come on already, Teej), Dave Fairbank. Specifically, I'm embroiled in an imbroglio related to our local soccer club's handling of the cancellation of the Spring season and I spent an hour on a Zoom call with the editor of our town's weekly. Intersection of interests and institutions I'm inclined to support, with a twist. I've had media training, and I think I did a pretty good job of presenting one side of a complicated story, but I have no idea how the story's gonna get written. At the same time, I'm completely in the camp of the media generally. Fascinating times, these.

Not withstanding that, I also think the pandemic will materially change the landscape of college sports. I think Division II and III will swell with refugees from Division I who probably flew too close to the sun in the first place. We're a lot closer to a 65-school mega-conference and micro-regional leagues in everything but hoops and football. But you didn't come here for my bloviation. Eh, you might've, but this is better.

In any case, please enjoy OBX Dave's latest:

As the death toll climbs toward 100,000 in the U.S., and millions suffer physically, mentally and economically, collateral damage from the pandemic is both immediate and long-term. I’m more fortunate than many, which permits me to beat two dead horses, umm, address subjects close to my heart: journalism and sports.

The coronavirus’s impact on sports is obvious. Postponements and cancellations, as people try to
figure how to compete safely. The Bundesliga and NASCAR re-started in empty venues. Korean pro baseball has been up and running for a couple weeks, minus fans. While it’s nice to see live competition again, the vibe is weird – like televised scrimmages or practice sessions.

More discouraging is the number of colleges that have whacked sports programs due to financial hits. University of Cincinnati men’s soccer, Old Dominion wrestling, Bowling Green baseball, several programs at Akron. As of last weekend, a former newspaper colleague tracked 93 programs cut, impacting more than 1,400 athletes at all levels nationally. Expect more sports to be cut, as revenue streams dry up and financial straits become clearer.

If there’s a silver lining, it might be that the pandemic will force schools to reconsider geographically distended alignments and needless expenses. Schedule locally. Limit trips. Quit housing the football team in a local hotel the night before home games.

The Aspen Institute, the think tank and advocacy outfit, has tried to address pandemic effects in many areas, sports included. The institute’s Sports and Society program conducted a national survey in early May, gauging people’s thoughts on sports and re-starting. Among the findings: almost 50 percent of all parents worried that their child would get sick when they resumed playing a sport, and 46 percent worried that they would become ill themselves; 18 percent of parents said that their child was unlikely to resume playing sports when restrictions are lifted; 54 percent said that their finances had been negatively impacted; more than 20 percent said it will be too difficult to transport their kids to play sports; and 25 percent are uncomfortable with their children playing elite-level travel sports that will expose them to outside communities and people.

The pandemic has disrupted most lives, including those whose job it is to report on it. Journalism, particularly local journalism, has been reeling for years due to staff cuts and shrinking ad revenue and corporate vulturism. The coronavirus is another gut punch, on steroids. The New York Times estimated that approximately 36,000 people who work in media have been laid off, furloughed or had their pay cut during the pandemic. Admittedly, that’s a drop in the bucket when national unemployment claims are north of 36 million in the past three months. But I’d argue that reporters, especially local reporters, perform an outsized service to their communities, not just during a national health crisis, but daily.

Difficult as it is to do the job well in the best of times, it’s now increasingly perilous. You may have recent video of a Long Island TV reporter who was harassed when he covered a re-open rally. The group that organized the rally later issued an apology, but that doesn’t address the initial encounter. Nor does it help that the Tweeter-in-Chief praised the rally attendees and called out the reporter. I get that people are critical of Rachel Maddow or Tucker Carlson because their political views don’t align. I also get that a lot of folks are crispy around the edges due to lengthy quarantines, economic anxiety and coronavirus exhaustion. But we’re entering dangerous territory when local reporters are targeted and harassed for asking questions and doing their jobs, with the same rhetoric used for gasbags at the national level.
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The crisis within local news is such that a group of 18 U.S. Senators sent a letter to Congressional leadership arguing that any future stimulus packages include money for local journalism. Among the signees were Virginia’s two senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker and Sheldon Whitehouse. All 18 are Democrats, so given the present power structure, spotty oversight of aid packages thus far, and sudden reluctance about further stimulus measures, I’m not holding my breath. But it was a nice gesture, albeit a decade late.

No one knows what normal is gonna look like. If we can get sports back safely and keep local newspapers alive for another 20 minutes, I’ll take it.