Child's play

There is a lot of back and forth as to how the sports seasons should begin again. Since we have so many positive tests for COVID-19 (C-19) it is presumed that we will never be free of this deadly virus. I think the same can be said for the flu but if someone has the flu we just tell them to take a few days to recuperate whereas we tell people with C-19 that they will need to quarantine for 14 days.

The reason so many people are testing positive is because we are doing an unbelievable amount of tests. When was the last time that you went to the doctor to see if you had the flu? Face it this C-19 will be with us for a while and we need to be smart. It is scaring people and often for no real sound reason. So if you really don’t feel very good stay home and get better even if you have to miss a day of work or school or heaven forbid your wedding day but safety first, okay?

I did come up with an idea for how we can approach some of the team sports opening or reopening. Some have said that they will play with no crowds or even limited crowds. In the last few weeks we have seen the protests and riots. Yes some of the peaceful protests were invaded by those with destruction on their minds and they seemed to be pretty organized, which didn’t do a lot of good for the cause.

Too many police officers have been unduly blamed for the damage done by a mere few. It is too often easy to lump everyone into the same negative grouping. You see it on Facebook a lot where one person has a bad experience and instead of talking to the owner or manager blabs on Facebook what a terrible experience they had at a certain place of business and now that business needs to figure out what happened to cause this issue. More often than not it is a misunderstanding.

Now let’s get back to the games being played with limited crowds. Wouldn’t it be great if each team would host a game played during the day for kids that would never be able to afford to see a game played by professional athletes? And what if they had chaperones who were police officers? Now I’m talking about cops wearing slacks or jeans with a polo shirt not full dress uniforms, and a baseball cap. Give these kids the opportunity to meet an officer and talk to them about their job, or what they enjoy doing in their spare time or what sport they like best.

In the big cities you could limit the number of kids with the amount of officers but I’m sure the PR people could figure it out. It would also be great if the members of each team would be available for autographs and have souvenirs available for the kids. Corporate sponsors could chip in some money for hot dogs and soda for them as well.

And can you imagine if the players donated their salary for that one game to help organizations like Boys’ and Girls’ Club of America or something similar in that community, or help fund the repairs to local ball fields.

Okay I know it is a little much to ask from these organizations. But if they really cared about the direction that pro sports is heading and how to improve community outreach what better way than to include those youth in need with pro athletes and law enforcement officers that are tasked with keeping the peace.

The PR for something like this would be so beneficial for sports and communities alike. And then maybe some of the politicians could figure out a way to make a difference to help out instead of figuring out how to get reelected. For crying out loud it is time to think outside the box isn’t it?

— Dale Anderson is a sports columnist and contributor to The Ritzville Adams County Journal.