Susie O’Brien: Allowing infected sports stars to play alongside everyone else is a step too far

Allowing a Covid-positive cricketer to keep playing undermines public health messages and makes Australians look entitled and hypocritical.

A Covid-positive Aussie cricketer should not have been allowed to compete in the Commonwealth Games and risk infecting many others.

It’s a bad look for a wealthy gold medal-hungry country like Australia.

Star player Tahlia McGrath was allowed to take her place in the dominant women’s cricket team after testing positive for Covid.

She even had mild symptoms, and yet she was allowed to play.

It’s fair to expect rules surrounding Covid to drop as we learn to live with this disease and get on with life.

But I don’t believe we’re at the point where Covid-positive sports stars should play alongside everyone else.

Initially, athletes were told they would have to test negative to be able to compete, but a week ago the Australian team announced it would allow positive athletes to compete on doctors’ advice.

Tahlia McGrath tested positive to Covid but was cleared to play under the Games team’s health protocols. Picture: Getty Images

Aussie chef de mission Petria Thomas said the restrictions were in place to prioritise performances – Aussie performances, it seems.

Team officials insisted they had “testing protocols over and above those required by the Birmingham 2022 organising committee”.

I can’t see the point of testing if they’re letting positive athletes like McGrath compete anyway.

It would be different if McGrath were a positive javelin thrower or shot-putter competing outside with no one else close by, but she is a member of team and had a responsibility to help keep others safe.

The Indian team the Australians were playing against deserved to be advised in advance of the positive test, but this did not occur. The match was delayed while news of McGrath’s positive status was relayed.

No wonder Indian commentators dubbed the fiasco shameless.

Earlier, McGrath, Australia’s highest run-scorer, was spotted sitting alone in the stands wearing a face mask. She also did not line up with her teammates during the national anthem. She tried to distance herself when she took a wicket in the second innings.

She batted without a mask.

But if it wasn’t safe to mix with her teammates during the match, or celebrate wickets with them, why was she allowed to play at all?

The inconsistency was heightened further when the team won and McGrath stood arm in arm on the podium with the other players.

Protocols? What protocols?

McGrath wore a face mask during the Medal Ceremony. Picture: Getty Images

The decision to clear McGrath to play is allowed under the Games’ rules, but not all teams and countries are allowing their Covid-positive athletes to compete.

Even within the Australian camp different decisions are being made. For instance, Javelin word champion Kelsey Lee-Barber delayed her arrival in Birmingham after getting Covid. Had the Games been in Australia, McGrath would not have been allowed to play.

The Birmingham Games are being conducted more in line with British rules. However, the decision to clear McGrath is not even consistent with the restrictions applied to average Britons with Covid who are still being told to stay home and avoid contact with others.

There’s no formal isolation period, but the message to the British public is clear: it’s likely you will infect others even if you have no symptoms.

Allowing a Covid-positive cricketer to keep playing undermines these public health messages and makes Australians look entitled and hypocritical.

The official guidance in Britain recommends people with Covid wear well-fitted masks, avoid crowded places and exercise where they will not have contact with others for up to 10 days.

There is one set of rules for professional athletes and another for others. Such double standards breed resentment, which leads to a broader disregard for the rules.

Kelsey-Lee Barber won gold in the Women's Javelin Throw after testing positive. Picture: Getty Images

Remember what happened when Australian Open officials allowed the unvaccinated Novak Djokovic to compete? It was hugely damaging and very divisive.

Though Birmingham has been promoted as the “free” Games, this is not entirely true because a range of protocols is in place for athletes.

Aussies have been blocked from cheering on teammates at other sports and must wear masks inside in the village.

It seems bizarre that healthy Covid-free athletes can’t be in the public stands to cheer on other Aussies, but they can play on a pitch with an infected teammate.

Perhaps the pressure of the whole situation was too much for McGrath. One of our greatest players, she made two runs off four balls before being dismissed.

Australia is having one of our best Commonwealth Games ever, with our athletes picking up our 1000th gold medal.

We should feel proud of their achievements after the years of uncertainty and heartache.

We’d all like to feel we’re moving to a post-Covid world where we are free of this deadly disease. It won’t be long but, sadly, we’re not there yet.