Will LA Rams be able to play home games in 2020?

Hopes for back-to-normal fade as the LA Rams may now face a ban on sporting events in Los Angeles until 2021

The NFL, and specifically, the LA Rams,  is once again facing uncertainty. This time a new threat to the 2020 NFL season originates from the city of Los Angeles. The mayor of Los Angeles warns that there may be no sporting nor entertainment events in 2020. The key is whether or not a vaccine is available to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

While this news may not directly impact the home games for either the Los Angeles Rams or their co-tenants at SoFi Sports Complex, the Los Angeles Chargers, the directive may have consequences to both NFL teams.

The litmus test proposed by Mayor Eric Garcetti is a valid one. Before anyone with authority over such matters can sound the “all’s clear” on COVID-19 restrictions, a bona fide cure or vaccine needs to be produced. Otherwise, allowing people to gather simply reboots the pattern once more.

Whether or not Mayor Garcetti has the authority to shut down NFL games at SoFi Sports Complex, the glass barrier has been broken on the status of the 2020 NFL season now. After all, he raises an insightful concern. How can anything truly be normal again until the medical sciences defeat this health threat?

We can demand the freedom to attend football games, concerts, and other mass gatherings. But do we insist upon that right if it means anyone of use contracts COVID-19? With the infectious period of up to two weeks before symptoms appear, how does any of us rationalize taking the risk of infecting friends, relatives, or anyone, simply for a sporting event?

I am not qualified to preach politics. But we can all applaud solid leadership. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In 2020, that wisdom is truly our golden rule.