(Reuters) – NFL players can expect daily COVID-19 testing through Sept. 5, the players’ union said on Wednesday ahead of the season which kicks off next month.
Dozens of players have tested positive for COVID-19 since training camps opened for rookies on July 21, according to NFL Player Association (NFLPA) data released earlier this month, as the league continues to enforce social distancing measures ahead of its Sept. 10 season start.
More than 60 players have opted out of playing this season, according to media reports, amid the new coronavirus pandemic that upended professional sports earlier this year.
The Washington Football Team said on Tuesday it would not allow any fans to attend out of an “abundance of caution,” but added that it would re-evaluate the decision if conditions improved, becoming the latest franchise to limit – or ban outright – spectators at games.
But the Dallas Cowboys, which in July was again ranked by Forbes as the most valuable sports team in the world, “plan on playing all of our football games and we plan on playing them in front of our fans” at AT&T Stadium, owner Jerry Jones told reporters on Wednesday.
“Our safety precautions that we are doing won’t be unfamiliar to a lot of people when we look at the general protocol of the country,” said Jones. “We will have our challenges(…)our fans will be in the stadium because they have chosen to be there.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Ken Ferris)
