Is It a Problem That Sports Gets Fast Test Results and You Don’t?

MLB and the NBA are getting coronavirus test results quickly and frequently. Some say that’s a problem in places where the results are sometimes so slow that they are worthless.

As the coronavirus crisis continues to engulf the U.S., public-health experts have pointed to a series of missteps and miscalculations in the country's response. Here’s a look back at how the U.S. became the epicenter of the global pandemic. Photo Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Connor Kelley feared he had been exposed to the coronavirus while playing miniature golf at a friend’s birthday party, so he visited a drive-through testing clinic near Orlando, Fla. He was told to expect results in a few days. It took 10 days.

A few miles and hundreds of millions of dollars away, professional athletes are being tested every day. Their results are coming back in less than 24 hours.

The sharp difference in testing experiences in a state raging with coronavirus infections is the source of a moral quandary casting a shadow over the American sports restart. The professional sports leagues want to play. They believe it’s safe for them to play. But should they play?

With a finite number of tests and a premium on fast turnarounds, the question now is the same as it was four months ago: whether it’s possible to resume sports without damaging public health.

“I think it’s absolutely essential that we get sports back,” said Ezekiel Emanuel, professor of health policy and medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania. “But we have to do it in a responsible way when we’re dealing with a scarce resource the whole country needs.”

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