If we’ve learned anything since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that any attempts at rigidity are ludicrous. The world is changing by the second, and applying hard-and-fast rules to life amid a pandemic without a complete behavioral analysis of the virus (or a safe, reliable vaccine) is like grasping at water.
So, as we woke up Wednesday to news that another Patriot, Stephon Gilmore—a player who was on the field for all 56 of the team’s defensive snaps on Monday, a player who was active in the mask-less postgame handshake ceremony, breathing directly into the helmets of other players (like Patrick Mahomes, who recently announced that his fiancée is pregnant)—has tested positive for the coronavirus, it’s time to rethink our approach to the remainder of the 2020 NFL season.