The women’s basketball team Duke ended its season on Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Said Michael Schoenfeld, Vice President of Public and Government Relations and Director of Communications at Duke University.
“We support their decision, just as we support the choices made by all Duke student-athletes during this unprecedented period. Duke will maintain our current competition schedule in other sports and will continue to observe our strict health and safety protocols, which include daily tests for all student-athletes and are based on the guidance of leading medical experts. “
The men’s basketball team planned to continue playing.
The women’s basketball team has been paused since December 16 because of two positive Covid-19 tests and contact tracking within the program’s travel group. The Blue Devils (3-1) postponed games against Miami, NC State and UNC Wilmington. The team’s next scheduled showdown was against Louisville on Thursday.
The Blue Devils are the first Power Five team to give up after the start of this season. The Ivy League chose not to play winter sports in November, before the basketball season began. Some other schools have also decided not to play.
New coach Kara Lawson, who was hired in July, had said this month: “I don’t think we should play now. That is my opinion on this. “It happened a day after Duke’s male coach Mike Krzyzewski questioned why college basketball was being played in the middle of the pandemic.
“I just want the safety, mental and physical health of the players and the team to assess where we are,” said the Duke Hall of Fame coach after losing to Illinois on December 8.
Krzyzewski cited the increase in Covid-19 cases as the basis for his argument.
“People are saying that the next six weeks will be the worst,” said Krzyzewski at the time. “For me, it is already very bad. On the other side, there are these vaccines that are coming out. By the end of the month, 20 million vaccines will be administered. At the end of January or February, another 100 million. Shouldn’t we reevaluate that? See what would be better? “
The virus has already caused many games to be canceled or postponed in the first month of the season. Countless teams are on pause because of positive tests in their programs. The NCAA said earlier this month that it planned to play its tournament in a single geographic area, with San Antonio being the first choice.