Lea: Coach K was right to question playing

By Chris Lea, WRAL Sports anchor/reporter

Raleigh, N.C. — When Coach K said, "I don’t think it (playing college basketball) feels right to anybody", I felt that.

Mike Krzyzewski went on to say, "Basically, it was more of a mentality of, ‘Get as many games in as possible.’ And I think I would just like, just for the safety, the mental health and physical health of our players and staff, for there… like, to assess where we’re at. You know, in our country today, you have 2000 deaths a day. You know, you have 200,000 cases, a million and a half last week. You have people saying that the next six weeks are going to be the worst. To me, it’s already pretty bad. And on the other side of it there are these vaccines that are coming out, that people say that by the end of the month, 20 million vaccine shots will be given, especially to our health care, to the people who need it. And by the end of January or February, another 100 million. Well, should we not reassess that? You know, just see what would be best?”

Since then, Alabama Head Men's Basketball Coach Nate Oats, and others, have criticized Coach K for his comments, by insinuating he wouldn't be making those comments if his team weren't 2-and-2. Maybe there's a shred of truth there, but more truth lies in the comments Krzyzewski made after the Illinois game.

COVID-19 has torn through the college basketball world. NC State is currently on pause and Duke has decided not to play non-conference games, because of COVID-19. As of this writing, DePaul has not played a single game, over two weeks after the college basketball season beginning on November 25th.

Coach K has a point.

At the same time however, if college basketball stops and doesn't end up completing March Madness for a second year in a row, the trickle down effect would be devastating for college sports. Coach K and his players, and other players across the country playing in revenue generating sports (see: Football and Men's Basketball) would still be able to pick back up at some point. But as we've seen with countless schools, more sports would continue to be dropped from athletics departments. The money March Madness generates is important.

Outside of the sports lost, that means less kids going to school on athletic scholarships, something that helps many kids coming from low income households that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford to put themselves through college.

That means more jobs in athletics departments and in departments across campuses would be lost.

A long time friend of mine, DJ MC, is the official game day DJ for NC State Men's Basketball and Football. That has currently been cut from the budget at NC State until further notice.

Even I sometimes feel guilty coming on television after a whole show full of the bad news surrounding COVID-19 to sound happy to talk about games and sports news. However, I know that sports is the break from real life that many people need.

So not playing college basketball is a Catch 22. It ultimately is good for our economy locally, helps build future leaders by giving educational opportunities and good for our mental health. But I do wonder if it takes a mental toll on the players we love to watch. They're not immune from the devastation of this virus. Some have lost family members, some have parents who have lost jobs and right now many basketball players are living in isolation on college campuses and only allowed to go to the gym to put up shots. What does that do to those players? Will this have a long lasting impact on this class of basketball players?

I don't have those answers and I don't have the answers to make everything go back to normal. But Coach K isn't wrong to take a step back to think about the impact of playing college basketball during a time like this will have on his players and players across the country. Especially right now when COVID-19 is worse than it's ever been in the previous 9 months and we're having consecutive days where more people die than in Pearl harbor each day. This isn't about rivalries and who you cheer for or against. It's about the lives, health and safety of our neighbors and our families.

Coach K isn't saying to stop basketball entirely, but he isn't wrong to take a step back and say, "Hey, are we doing our kids a disservice by continuing in this manner?"