Department of Health - Shutdown was a recommendation, not an order
New article this morning - https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/2021/01/24/michigan-athletic-department-no-choice-but-shut-down-2-weeks/6694672002/
Shot - "The MDHHS, according to the memo, recommended Michigan suspend all practices and games for two weeks, and expand testing and public messaging about how to prevent the spread of the virus. All athletes, coaches and associated staff members are to quarantine for two weeks."
Chaser - "When asked in an email what potential penalties Michigan might face if it did not follow the recommendations, Stufin replied, “no penalties.” When told of that response, a Michigan athletic department official again said that was not the department’s interpretation of the memorandum."
January 25th, 2021 at 9:39 AM ^
We might be healthy but I don’t know about “rested and ready”. The team isn’t allowed to practice during this. When you’re a high-level athlete, you try to keep your fitness to as consistent a level as possible. A two-week pause will throw that out of whack. You may see a tired team in the first few games back.
And then the league will cram as many games as possible in February, which probably won’t help matters.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
Agreed but I was being polyannish.
January 25th, 2021 at 11:12 AM ^
Avatar does NOT check out
January 25th, 2021 at 10:13 AM ^
Healthy? Sure. Rested? Sure.
Ready? To be determined.
They can't practice together or be together for at least two weeks. The old debate of rest vs. rust is very applicable here. Their first game back could very well be against a damn good Illinois team. That's not who you want to be playing after going over two weeks of not playing a game or even practicing.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:50 AM ^
I’m hoping we can play either Penn St or MSU on the 7th if we can’t play prior to that. That gives us a game before Illinois and they don’t play until the 9th anyway.
January 25th, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
It's also possible that basketball will be able to start up earlier than the 14 days if there was no direct contact or case spread. A blanket shutdown to prevent spread then re-assess may have been for the better
January 25th, 2021 at 11:39 AM ^
Yes, believe you are correct. Possibly in 10 days if no positive tests practice could begin?. Would be good to have clarification from the Athletic dept.
January 25th, 2021 at 9:16 AM ^
Has there been any reports of some type of liability waiver signed amongst the athletic dept and players?
If not, I don’t see how you can choose to not follow the recommendation. Definitely wouldn’t be an easy decision.
Are the single postponed games being met with scrutiny?
January 25th, 2021 at 9:19 AM ^
Freep education reporter tweet
January 25th, 2021 at 9:23 AM ^
This looks like a classic "Spider-Man Pointing" meme situation between the University and State health dept
January 25th, 2021 at 9:19 AM ^
They're erring on the side of caution. Yes it sucks not being able to play or watch games, but in the grand scheme of things I'm okay with this.
January 25th, 2021 at 9:22 AM ^
No one has asked the AD whether they suggested to programs to install the Michigan DoH contact tracing app back when it was released in December.
January 25th, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
Eh? Good question, but the app is easily circumvented. Just leave your phone in your dorm room or apartment.
January 25th, 2021 at 9:25 AM ^
When the health department recommends you do something and you ignore it, be prepared for enhanced liability if someone dies or a lot of people get sick because of your decision.
It doesn't matter whether the health department had authority to impose sanctions directly. The department's warning forced the athletic department's hand.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:00 AM ^
Would other schools send their teams here for games while we're ignoring state health department recommendations? If not, that would be a serious PR problem for Michigan.
I don't know if Michigan would send their teams to play a school in that situation, but it would draw a lot of criticism if they did.
January 25th, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
The University of Michigan has more epidemiology, infection disease, public health experts, by far, than the Michigan Department of Health. If you are suggesting they wouldn't have come to this decision to pause everything on their own, then U of M has a bigger problem. As shown by U of M's statement this weekend that there have been additional cases, they don't know the scope of the outbreak yet.
Related, this isn't Joe's House of Ribs or a small-time hair salon being "recommended" something; it is a huge public entity with billions of dollars of resources. They absolutely could, if they wanted to, work with the MDHHS to get the basketball, hockey, etc teams going sooner than 14 days *if* U of M thinks it is appropriate. They can point to "The basketball team has been tested daily for 10 days and has had no positives" , "The team has had no exposure to the infected individuals" etc. Based on the MDHHS clearly saying these are recommendations, they should be willing to work with U of M and sign off on any plan. If they aren't, U of M could point that out.
But that would require U of M taking on some of the burden of lifting this pause "early" -- and sometimes entities like to sit back and blame things on outside parties when they have the ability to take things on themselves.
The next 2 U of M basketball games are definitely going to be postponed. But if Warde and Schlissel are aggressive in their health & safety measures (which I assume they are) and clear about the science they are following, the next 2 games after that should be real possibilities (assuming there are no positives in basketball, etc).
January 25th, 2021 at 1:11 PM ^
I'm not suggesting anything about the scientific positions or recommendations UM's scientists would take or make. I only point out that when the government gives you a warning, you ignore it at your own peril, even if they cannot or will not fine you or put you in jail if you ignore the warning.
I'm also not suggesting that the health warning wasn't supported by evidence or was in any way unwise. I assume the warning was well-taken and I hope that UM will act responsibly.
I also don't know whether testing, quarantines, and even vaccinations might form a basis for returning to play earlier than 14 days after the announcement. Hopefully that decision will be made by people smarter than me.
January 25th, 2021 at 1:30 PM ^
I am pointing out the legal "peril" here is much, much less than some people seem to be indicating, especially when you are a massive entity like the University of Michigan.
To pick one example, the government has already (correctly) told people that indoor dining can be a high-risk activity if there is not social distancing or capacity limitations. Even in Michigan, when 25% capacity indoor dining is started on Feb 1, the lead doctor at MDHHS said she would still not recommend--from a safety perspective--eating inside, as there is a risk. Yet thousands of restaurants in MI will soon open, with no legal liability as long as they follow the requirements (not recommendations; the requirements, which is you must follow a limit of 25%, etc).
Michigan absolutely has the resources & capability to "un-pause" for the games next week, if they want to (assuming no positive cases on the bball team etc). There is no legal liability. It just comes down to evaluating the health risks and owning the decision, and consulting with the teams they hope to play (e.g., Michigan State).
January 25th, 2021 at 9:27 AM ^
I get it, it was a recommended order.
January 25th, 2021 at 9:35 AM ^
Is that like when you're voluntold?
January 25th, 2021 at 9:34 AM ^
Makes sense. Their job is to minimize risk and prevent an outbreak. They are not equipped to account for the whole array of implications that their recommendations would result in. Only the infectious part.
January 25th, 2021 at 9:39 AM ^
So does Michigan make up these 4 games or are they canceled?
January 25th, 2021 at 9:51 AM ^
We might be able to play MSU or Penn St on the 7th. They both don’t play again until the 9th. IU and NW both play during that timeframe. I’m not sure where we make up the other 3 games unless it’s after the season. They are almost going to have to push everything back at least 2 weeks unless they want to eliminate conference tournaments.
January 25th, 2021 at 11:20 AM ^
Or the games are just cancelled? Play everything else as scheduled after the 14 days.
January 25th, 2021 at 9:44 AM ^
One thing about the continual naysayers and constant $&@;) about Warde and his department is that all of the persons in here that constantly do it are all overqualified for the job and are just biding their time on taking over the department, in the near future. Book it!
January 25th, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^
Perhaps there is some legal argument I am unaware of, but I find this to be completely disingenuous on behalf of the MDHHS. They produced a letter with specific actions to take, broken down into 5 parts - some of which had 4 or more sub-parts. To then try and play this off as just a "recommendation" is utter horseshit.
January 25th, 2021 at 9:58 AM ^
People in charge of things need to own it.
January 25th, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^
The state isn’t being very upfront here. It may be a “voluntary” recommendation but any organization that ignores a health recommendation is exposing itself to litigation, especially right now.
January 25th, 2021 at 9:58 AM ^
Politics.
Go Blue.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:00 AM ^
Segue, but try saying "contact tracing" five times fast. It's really tough.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:04 AM ^
Funny thing about this situation is that basketball is NOT a life and death decision, for some. However, the responsibility of the whole AD is to do everything in their power to protect and do the absolute best that you can do to ensure the student-athlete is getting the best care possible. Not to protect some idiots feelings and opinions about diets and decisions based on not being able to get back to winning the BIG10 and our next championship in any particular sport.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:17 AM ^
It really is like someone owning a single share of GM stock then demanding that Mary Barra take their phone calls for advice.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
Such as suggesting to athletes they install a contact tracing app that was released by the Michigan Department of Health, back in December?
January 25th, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
Is there any rational reason to believe that the protocols already in place for our basketball/hockey teams were insufficient? By all accounts, not one player on those teams has tested positive for Covid.
The players on those teams have done everything asked of them and are being punished for what other Michigan athletes did. It’s fair to question how appropriate this is.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:05 AM ^
Waiting on the "this season should never have happened and will come with an asterisk" crowd that commented incessantly through the football season. But since the basketball team is doing well, everyone is ok with it.
January 25th, 2021 at 11:12 AM ^
You manage to make some really inane comments here.
January 25th, 2021 at 2:01 PM ^
And the OSU troll chimes in again.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:07 AM ^
I would say in a week and there is no COVID, Michigan should play.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:09 AM ^
I think we're finding controversy where there isn't any. It's quite a normal thing for a scientific government agency to issue specific recommendations to an entity that is under their purview* and have those be treated like law. I covered the EPA for years and OSHA for a time, and when they issued "recommendations" to a business they were investigating, they were never mere suggestions. You get a recommendation from a scientific governmental organization and you don't follow it, you're liable for what happens, because anyone harmed can go to court and say "This is what the government told them to do and they didn't do it."
There's nothing untypical about the health department issuing a recommendation and the school treating it like a command. MDHHS would know the effect of their recommendation, and UM Athletics would know to take it seriously.
*(the athletic department is a separate entity from the university but remains a state entity associated with the university. Ran into this when we did our FOIA: it's complicated.)
January 25th, 2021 at 10:30 AM ^
Seth - you guys talk to the people in Detroit News/other media that have official lines of communication to the AD; please ask your contacts to ask the AD if they've suggested to athletes to install the Michigan DoH contact tracing app.
It's common sense if they're taking this seriously. I seriously hope they did this back in December when it was first released. These athletes are a very unique population in which they're constantly in extremely close contact with other individuals...I really hope someone in the AD didn't drop the ball with having the Programs suggest the app to be used, back in December.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:10 AM ^
Michigan's in a lose-lose here no matter what they decide to do.
If they decide to stay out for two weeks or longer, you're losing those games (not just for basketball), you're costing your teams chances to compete for titles and in the basketball team's situation, you are in all likelihood costing them the Big Ten title altogether. Those four games are not getting made up, the team isn't practicing and getting better, etc. You've essentially just handed the conference title to Iowa. So you're pissing off the fans, alums, and the players who busted their ass to be in this position.
If you decide to play early and someone gets sick, you're going to get crucified. Even if someone doesn't get sick, the other side of the aisle is going to come out and say Michigan is being reckless with its student-athletes and their health.
No matter what, you're going to deal with a large contingent of fans who are pissed off at your decision.
January 25th, 2021 at 10:45 AM ^
Man this sucks!! Taking away all our momentum. I just hope we don’t look awful in the few games coming back. Unfortunate this has happened!!! Go blue
January 25th, 2021 at 10:52 AM ^
DetNews is reporting that a "cluster" of students tested positive for this new variant over the weekend (LINK). With all of these empty dorms on campus, are the athletic programs in bubbles? Seems to me that you could do that and keep the sports going.
January 25th, 2021 at 11:01 AM ^
So the school, which has world class doctors, made its own decision. WTF is the problem with that? I’m sure your concern comes out of selfless concern for the players’ health and not your own interest in watching basketball. Reevaluate your priorities.
January 25th, 2021 at 11:04 AM ^
For teams with no current positives, they should follow CDC guidelines for people with possible contact. Isolate for 7 days, then pass a test. If no one on the team pings the test after 7 days they should be good to go.
January 25th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^
They should eliminate the conference tournament this year and make up the games if they can. Enough Big Ten teams have missed games that the extra time would help.
January 25th, 2021 at 1:29 PM ^
I agree. Not only would it give us an unfair regular season advantage being 13-1 but we need to make up for missed games
January 25th, 2021 at 11:22 AM ^
Based on the news coming out about the case spread, it's sounding like it was the correct move
January 25th, 2021 at 11:27 AM ^
Yeah, this really was a no-brainer by U of M to pause the whole thing. They don't have their arms around this yet.
"This weekend, the university learned of additional cases that are positive for the B.1.1.7 variant, and this number may continue to rise."
That said, if they have smarts and guts, they should say that *if* the entire basketball team, hockey team, etc continue to test negative for a full week *and* they had no known exposure to the infected individuals, that play for those teams can resume (which would have a game 10 days after the pause). And thus only 2 games would be missed/postponed instead of 4.
But we'll see.
January 25th, 2021 at 11:47 AM ^
I betcha a thousand bucks it was some rich swimmer kid visiting her dad's condo in London.