Penn State sports doctor warns that one-third of Big Ten athletes with COVID-19 were found to have the heart condition myocarditis as Donald Trump urges the conference to reinstate fall football season
In an alarming report, Penn State's director of athletic medicine says about one-third of the Big Ten athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 also show signs of the heart condition myocarditis.
Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli presented his findings from cardiac MRI scans earlier this week during a meeting with school board officials in State College, Pennsylvania. Often caused by a viral infection, myocarditis can weaken the heart, leading to heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms, and even death. Former Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis was posthumously diagnosed with myocarditis in 1993, and it is believed to have contributed to his death at age 27.
'When we looked at our COVID-positive athletes, whether they were symptomatic or not, 30 to roughly 35 percent of their heart muscles (are) inflamed,' Sebastianelli said, according to a story published Thursday by the Centre Daily Times. 'And we really just don't know what to do with it right now. It's still very early in the infection. Some of that has led to the Pac-12 and the Big Ten's decision to sort of put a hiatus on what's happening.'
Penn State's director of athletic medicine says about one-third of the Big Ten athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 also show signs of the heart condition myocarditis
Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli (right) presented his findings from cardiac MRI scans earlier this week during a meeting with school board officials in State College, Pennsylvania. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has continued to push for a fall football season in the Big Ten
Often caused by a viral infection, myocarditis can weaken the heart, leading to heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms, and even death
The Big Ten announced its decision to postpone football and other fall sports on August 11.
Neither Penn State nor the Big Ten responded to the newspaper's requests for comment.
'I have had no direct conversation with (Penn State) President (Eric) Barron on this topic,' Sebastianelli told the Centre Daily Times in an email, 'but needless to say we all have concerns for the health and safety of every PSU student-athlete, as well as those at every level of competition; this is a public health issue.'
Georgia State freshman quarterback Mikele Colasurdo was diagnosed with a heart condition last month and will not play for the Sun Belt Conference school this season.
In a post shared to Twitter, he thanked Panthers head coach Shawn Elliott and the training staff for 'providing a safe environment' for practice.
'Ultimately it was the procedures and tests set forth by GSU that allowed the doctors to find this condition in my heart and help keep me safe,' Colasurdo wrote. 'I am very thankful. I can't wait to watch my team compete this fall and I could not be more excited to return for the 2021 season.'
Former Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis was posthumously diagnosed with myocarditis in 1993, and it is believed to have contributed to his death at age 27
Colasurdo did not specify his heart condition, but myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, has been linked to the coronavirus.
Despite the apparent risks, the White House is continuing to push the Big Ten to proceed with a fall football season amid the pandemic.
On Monday, Donald Trump urged Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren to reinstate the fall football season as early as October. The phone call was reportedly orchestrated by Clay Travis - a sports talk radio host who claims the conference's decision to postpone was a political attack against the President.
'Had a very productive conversation with Kevin Warren, Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, about immediately starting up Big Ten football,' Trump tweeted Tuesday. 'Would be good (great!) for everyone - Players, Fans, Country. On the one yard line!'
The Big Ten, in a statement, said a White House representative reached out to Warren to set up a phone call with Trump. The statement said Warren and Trump had a 'productive conversation.'
'The Big Ten Conference and its Return To Competition Task Force, on behalf of the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C), are exhausting every resource to help student-athletes get back to playing the sports they love, at the appropriate time, in the safest and healthiest way possible,' the statement said.
Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions leads his team onto the field before the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Beaver Stadium on November 30, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State is not expected to play any football games in 2020
In the attack ad, Biden puts the blame for the absence of a football season squarely on Trump
The conference is filled with teams from battleground states that will prove critical in the upcoming election between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, the latter of whom weaponized college football postponements in a recent attack ad featuring empty Big Ten stadiums
Donald Trump urged Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren (right) to reinstate the fall football season as early as October during a call that was reportedly orchestrated by Clay Travis (left) - a sports talk radio host who claims the conference's decision to postpone was a political attack against the President
Travis, who recently interviewed the President on his 'OutKick' radio show, facilitated Tuesday's call between Trump and Warren about reinstating the fall season, according to Sports Business Journal, which reported the White House's goal of starting the season in October.
SBJ also reports that the White House is hoping to create polling momentum in the midwest, where football fans are being deprived of a fall season amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed over 185,000 American lives.
The conference encompasses several battleground states, such as Michigan and Ohio, and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has already seized upon the issue in an attack ad that blames Trump for the absence of a football season.
'Trump put America on the sidelines,' read a graphic at the end of the spot, which featured images of empty Big Ten football stadiums.
Travis, who seized upon that ad in a recent blog post on OutKick.com, has accused the Big Ten of postponing the 2020 fall football season to hurt Trump in November's election.
'The Big Ten decision to cancel college football was about politics,' read a recent tweet from Travis. 'They want to beat Donald Trump & blame him for football not being played in swing states.'
One Ohio State fan believes Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren is a bigger villain than Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. Warren postponed the season until spring back in August
Trump has claimed that Democrats do not want college football this fall 'for political reasons'
While the Big Ten's initial postponement was politically motivated, according to Travis, Warren's decision to speak with the President with an eye towards playing fall football was very 'bipartisan.'
'After the president and the Big Ten commissioner's very positive & bipartisan call this morning the pressure is now squarely on Big Ten presidents and chancellors to reconsider their prior decision to cancel fall sports,' tweeted Travis.
Big Ten coaches met Friday to discuss the possibilities for playing a shortened season starting around Thanksgiving. There is no timeline for a decision, but university presidents and athletic directors could determine their original verdict on the 2020 season will stand.
The Big Ten, Pac-12 and other conferences -- including the Ivy League -- postponed the 2020 football season with a plan to play an altered season in spring 2021
Travis, who seized upon Biden's attack ad in recent a blog post on OutKick.com, has accused the Big Ten of postponing the 2020 fall football season to hurt Trump in November's election
Penn State sports doctor warns that one-third of Big Ten athletes with COVID-19 were found to have the heart condition myocarditis as Donald Trump urges the conference to reinstate fall football season
![Penn State sports doctor warns that one-third of Big Ten athletes with COVID-19 were found to have the heart condition myocarditis as Donald Trump urges the conference to reinstate fall football season]()
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September 04, 2020
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