If a college football player has H1N1 (or other contagious illness) should they be allowed to play?

[NightWatcher]

Tebow and three or four other Florida Gators flew to Kentucky on a seperate plane from the rest of the team for last night's asswhippin at Kentucky. They were said to be suffering from a "repiratory illness" but rumors and reports of H1N1 being rampant in Gainesville suggest otherwise. Other players were seen puking before the game as well and were reported to have a fever. Before the opener at OKC, UGA quarterback (to use the term loosely) Joe Cox was flown seperately from the rest of the team from Athens.

Should a sick player be allowed to play and possibly infect others?

(edited to add: "other contagious illness")

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. They must have a shallow team if the replacements can't outplay someone with flu

because real flu takes you down pretty bad. I'd suspect 'flu-like illness' (or hangovers) before proper flu.

[FarCenter]

2. Given that the mortality rate from H1N1 is not significantly different than seasonal flu, why not?

[NightWatcher]

3. should a player who has the regular flu be allowed to play either

[CanonRay]

4. Just don't share the mouthpiece

LOL

[stray cat]

5. yes - if they really feel good enough to play - we don't quarantine people in general

I would be more worried about people in the crowds getting me sick

[Freddie Stubbs]

6. No.

If you have the flu, you should stay home so as not to infect others.

[kestrel91316]

7. Somebody with flu should probably be at home, resting in bed,

so as to avoid dangerous and unnecessary complications. Not to mention the risk of giving it to others.

What the hell is so important about sports that they are worth risking young people's lives needlessly???

[get the red out]

8. Yea, the 'Cats got the crap beat out of them

and now will probably get sick too, and if they do will they spread it to their classmates? Just prior to the game they showed infected Florida players puking on the sidelines. I am going to be curios to see how fast Kentucky players get sick, I haven't heard if any Tenn players got sick from playing Fla last week, though the illness had spread a lot in a week.

So does Kentucky get sick and infect Alabama next week? Stay tuned I guess. This could be an interesting virus study for someone. The SEC Plague.