Jerry Jones Is Foolishly Going Against COVID-19 Risks
Throughout the first 10 weeks of the 2020 season, the Dallas Cowboys have been one of the few teams with allowed fan attendance. Team owner Jerry Jones has remained firm in his desire to keep that going throughout the year. However, Jones has just made some concerning comments about the situation.
Cowboys continue to have fans attendance in the 2020 season
Since the start of the 2020 season, Jerry Jones has remained headstrong with the Dallas Cowboy having fans in attendance.
Despite those concerns over the summer, which significantly impacted the NFL’s planning for the year, he has stayed on that path. The Cowboys have continued to have fans at their home games played at AT&T Stadium.
Each franchise that is allowing fans to attend has them at a significantly lowered capacity. The NFL has put forth some tight guidelines to ensure health safety for those who go to the games.
The Cowboys have notably seen their number increase with each passing home game. In Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons, 21,708 fans attended, which has risen to 31,700 for Week 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With that figure in mind, Jerry Jones has come out with a strong statement regarding increased attendance.
Jerry Jones plans to increase home game attendance capacity
Throughout much of the 2020 season, the Dallas Cowboys have been among the few teams with limited fan attendance.
As the campaign has rolled along, the number of fans at home games increases with each home game. During one of his weekly interviews with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Jones voiced that the plans are for that figure to stay on that steady rise. (H/T CNN)
“My plan was to increase our fans as we went through the season, and we followed that plan,” Jones said. “We’ve had almost a third of the attendance in the NFL, the whole NFL. I’m proud of that.”
The Cowboys have moved forward this season without a hitch, but there remains a strong concern with the virus. There has been a strong second surge with COVID-19 in the last several weeks, with more than 100,000 cases each day.
Texas has the most cases (1,0647,131) in the entire United States and the second-highest number of deaths (20.033). Last week, the state was averaging 9,842 new cases per day, the second-most in the country behind only Illinois. These figures include a 22% increase in hospitalizations.
There are many reasons for concern, given the virus is still impacting many people across the United States. The greater number of fans in attendance at home games can increase the possibility of infection. All that could set the stage for disaster that the NFL wants to avoid.
NFL will keep an eye on Dallas
Jerry Jones has made it quite clear that the plan is to increase fan attendance at each home game.
The Dallas Cowboys have so far avoided any positive COVID-19 test being connected to attending a game. However, the higher number of people at the event only further increases the odds of that occurring.
The NFL will likely keep a close eye on the Cowboys situation and could step in if necessary if things head south. With the continued surge in COVID-19 cases in the United States, there is at least the need to move with more caution.
Teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens have decided to stop fan attendance due to safety concerns regarding the virus. Time will tell what will unfold in Dallas.
