The Rush: COVID disqualifies many Team USA Olympians before the Games begin
With the Tokyo Games beginning later this week, positive COVID tests are already impacting teams from across the globe, including Team USA. Meanwhile, Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippin is celebrating the Olympics with a party that you can attend, and Michael Irvin sounds off on the low vaccination rate amongst Dallas Cowboys players heading into NFL training camp.
Video Transcript
- So I love to have family and friends over, hanging out in the hot tub, barbecue, and we love watching this TV.
LIZ LOZA: We're going to get to Scottie Pippen's pool party in just a second. But first, we could be talking about all kinds of things on this episode, like Naomi Osaka becoming the first Black female athlete on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" Swimsuit edition--
- Slay, queen, slay.
LIZ LOZA: --or Predators prospect Luke Prokop becoming the first active player on an NHL contract to come out publicly as gay.
- Good for him.
LIZ LOZA: But instead, we gotta talk about COVID. COVID. Again.
- Not a game.
LIZ LOZA: The Olympics hasn't even started yet, and at least 61 COVID cases are already linked to the Tokyo Games. And several Team USA athletes have tested positive over the last 72 hours. Yo, Rona, you stay away from Simone Biles. That's all I gotta say about that. OK, so get this-- in a recent poll of Japanese citizens, nearly 8 in 10 don't even want the games to go down. And you know [BLEEP] getting real when Tokyo-based Toyota is pulling its ads that run in Japan during the games but keeping their ads in other countries.
- I see what you did there.
LIZ LOZA: But, you know, all this gloom and doom isn't stopping Scottie Pippen from capitalizing on the games. The Bulls legend and Dream Teamer, who coincidentally also has a new book available for preorder, is renting out his Chicago mansion on Airbnb so fans can watch the games from his spot.
- Come on in to my crib. Welcome.
LIZ LOZA: Mm, I hope the host is investing in some deep cleanings between those viewing parties because, I mean, that's kind of gross. On the flip side is fellow American Baller Michael Irvin. In an interview with ESPN, he expressed frustration with the Cowboys for being way below the NFL's team vaccination rate of 85%. The Playmaker's pissed because he understands how much a single COVID case can disrupt an entire NFL season.
Check out BetMGM's odds. The Cowboys are right now the favorites to win the NFC East at plus 115 odds. But with COVID on the rise, that is likely to fluctuate over the next month. And get this-- according to the AP, the Cowboys don't even have the worst vaccination rate in the division. Wait, hold up. They Don't OK, so who is it, then? Oh, that is rich. Of course, the Washington Football Team.