On Saturday, South Dakota and Portland State decided to cancel their football game due to an outbreak of pertussis (commonly known as whooping cough) among the PSU team. Noticed how I said cancelled.
That’s right. Apparently, this was a mutual decision.
Before I give my take on the matter, here’s a bit of background. They knew about the whooping cough at least two days before the matchup. But, for some reason, they neglected to let ANYBODY know until mere hours before the game. Tailgaters had already shown up, USD had flown in, and everything was set for gameday, but they cancelled last minute.
Here’s my opinion: if you’re irresponsible to the point that your players aren’t vaccinated, they get infected with whooping cough, and then you’re somehow inept enough to not let anybody know until mere hours before the team is supposed to take the field, you don’t mutually decide to cancel the game. No, you go up to the other team, own up to your mistakes, and forfeit. South Dakota should not have been robbed of a win because of PSU’s ineptitude. Portland State should’ve taken that well-deserved loss.
PSU plays Boise State next week. Boise State should strongly consider forcing them to forfeit if the team still has a disease from the 19th century.
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