More fans means more COVID-19 cases

Graphic+made+by+Hana+Beaty

Hana Beaty

Graphic made by Hana Beaty

COVID-19 has already killed over 200,000 people in the United States and the death toll will continue to rise if fans are allowed at sporting events.

With cases continuing to rise throughout the country, the NFL and MLB only care about one thing: money.

There’s no question  that sports leagues are losing a tremendous amount of revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NFL is slated to lose $1.3 billion in ticket value and MLB is expected to lose more than $5 billion when it’s all said and done.

Even though The NFL and MLB are the two wealthiest sports leagues in the world, it’s safe to say they are desperate to make money. They will do anything in their power to make money, even if that means letting sick people into their stadiums. 

The Denver Broncos are letting roughly 5,700 fans in their games, which is approximately 7.5% of the stadium’s capacity of 76,125.

I don’t care how spread out you are. That is 5,700 people in an enclosed space for three hours during a worldwide pandemic.

I’m not risking my life to watch a football game, or any sporting event for that matter, and neither should anybody else.

The fact that NFL teams are allowing this to take place is absurd and they aren’t the only league that is being completely irrational. 

The MLB is being even more irresponsible by allowing 11,500 tickets to be available for purchase for each game during the postseason.

That is about 28% of the 40,518 capacity at Arlington Field in Texas where the World Series is being hosted.

Texas is allowing bars to re-open on Oct. 14. This will lead to cases rising in Texas and higher odds of spreading the virus at games.

These leagues should not have the right to allow fans in their stadiums.

COVID-19 is not a joke. People are dying every day from this pandemic and the NFL and MLB are only worried about how much revenue they can make.

Nick Despotakis can be reached at [email protected] or @nick__despo on Twitter.