Air Force's Gobrecht clarifies COVID-19 cancelation tweets

USAFA — The coronavirus continues to be present in our everyday lives, including in the sports world.

The latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron, has spread like wild fire over the holiday season, sending sporting events into a frenzy.

Multiple games in multiple sports have been canceled or postponed due to COVID-19.

Those cancellations have led to frustration from players, coaches and fans, including Air Force women's basketball head coach Chris Gobrecht.

Gobrecht sent out two tweets on Dec. 29th, voicing her frustration.

"I see all the games being canceled in all sports due to COVID concerns and I can't help thinking how ridiculous this has all become,' Gobrecht said in a tweet. "We are talking about healthy young people with virtually zero risk of health concerns related to COVID; especially in it's current state; yet, here we are...ruining the dreams and fun of thousands of athletes across America...and why? My daughter is a nurse--I respect the virus; but we are NOT following the science here..."

During her weekly press conference in this media, the veteran head coach expanded on her tweets.

"I think everybody’s frustrated," explained Gobrecht. "It’s just a really strange, odd, difficult thing to navigate because of all the uncertainties and all the things we don’t know. The biggest frustration for anyone involved in trying to carry on with business as usual in this environment. The way the goal posts constantly moves and the arbitrariness of how it is approached and I think that’s what’s become the most difficult. And it really, really bothers me because there’s so many athletes being affected by some of these policies. And I think we just need to figure out if we’re doing the right thing."

"I think we need to determine really what needs to happen for a game to be canceled," added Gobrecht. "And I think if everybody’s vaccinated or boosted, play on. Because everything we’ve seen proves, if you’re vaccinated or boosted, even if you catch it, it’s going to be very mild and that’s what everything says and that’s my only thing."

Air Force saw there first postponement on the year on Thursday, when the Falcons home game against Nevada was put on hold due to the COVID-19 issues with the Wolf Pack.

"It’s very hard for the people in charge to know what to say and what’s the right thing to do and I get that. But I think I’m especially sensitive to it because the limited amount of time our players have to do this."

The Falcons next scheduled game is set for January 13th, at Colorado State.