By Robert Brizel, Brick City Boxing Correspondent
On Wednesday, April 7, 2020, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, the key member of the Presidential Coronavirus Task Force, move to permanently ban the handshake in the United States of America. The world we live in, if the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic ends at some future point, or not, will never be the same. Likewise, amateur and professional sports will never be the same.
In fact, all contact sports, including baseball, football, basketball, soccer, rugby, boxing, wrestling, arm wrestling, Mixed Martial Arts, martial arts, and everything else would become forbidden and banned. Really? The worst thing no handshakes? not just public events and sports at the high school, college, and professional levels, all music and cultural events, and public gatherings would be outlawed. Going to a museum, an amusement park like Disneyland and Disney World, going to the movies or restaurants, would be outlawed.
What price will the sports public and the general public have to pay for the existence of the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus? What would a basketball, golf, and tennis tournament be without the roar of the crowd, even in non-contact sports? The specter of the Novel Coronavirus will hang over every event. Television sports will be limited to attendance of the officials and the participants. The Olympic Games will be a television event only. Sports Arenas will be for television only. Sadly, without the financial support of the spectators, amateur and professional sports cannot survive. The end of the world is not approaching, but the end of the sports world might be. If Dr. Anthony Fauci is allowed to ban the handshake, then public gatherings will end. There will be no more public shopping at stores and shopping malls, no more dining at restaurants.
According to Dr. Fauci, “”I don’t think we should ever shake hands ever again, to be honest with you. Not only would it be good to prevent coronavirus disease, it probably would decrease instances of influenza dramatically in this country.” Statistics will soon put the known umber of cases of people infected with the COVID-19 Novel coronavirus into the millions. Many millions more individuals remain sick, untested, or have died of the Novel Coronavirus without being tested or counted. If people continue to gather in supermarkets and public places without following social distancing guidelines, the Coronavirus will continue to spread. If Dr. Fauci has his way, the handshake, groups of people in public places, gatherings, stores, public events. sporting events, public voting, human emotional and physical contact will be gone. We must all hope and pray the Coronavirus will be over.