What Can the NFL Learn From NHL, NBA?
The professional sports leagues, like everyone, have been battling to decide how to proceed with their seasons. While it initially seemed like everything would just be canceled, it turns out that they have decided to go ahead with limited seasons, new rules, and special guidelines and protections in place to ensure that everyone is as safe as possible during this uncertain time.
Colorado which launched sports betting on May 1st has been eager for sports to return. Colorado online sports betting sites are now offering betting lines on NBA, NHL and MLB along with NFL futures.
What matters now is finding the best way to do things. For the upcoming NFL season, there are a lot of concerns. However, there are also plenty of things that the NFL can learn from other sports leagues about protecting their players.
NBA Goes Smart
The NBA has decided to go with a short season and to offer players a host of safety precautions along the way. In addition to limiting their location to the Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, they’re giving players the option to play and taking advantage of wearable technology. Players will be able to use smart rings to monitor their health and be notified of social distancing violations. They will also have access to Disney’s MagicBand system, which will provide them with touchless access to hotel rooms, security checkpoints, and even health screenings.
NHL
The NHL took a four-month hiatus in trying to figure out how to deal with the pandemic. Now, they’re coming back and going straight into the playoffs. The idea here is to allow players the option to come to the playoffs and finish the season, with appropriate health and safety measures in place. Although reports of positive tests have been made, the league is still doing everything in its power to keep players safe and finish out the season without a serious outbreak.
What Can the NFL Learn?
In a high-contact sport like football, some might think that there simply isn’t a safe answer. However, there are some ways that the NFL can return to semi-normal play without having to give everything up. For starters, players were given the chance to opt out of the season if they so choose. They’re going ahead with full contact training—which could cause a spike in cases if they aren’t careful about how they do it.
What could the NFL do better? Unfortunately, in these uncertain times, no one has the right answer. For now, the best thing any league can do is put the wellbeing of its players first and go from there. So far, it seems like the NFL is doing its best but there is still some work to be done.