FOS Daily 7/17/2020

The Washington Post published a report detailing sexual harassment and verbal abuse allegations against former employees of the Washington, D.C. NFL team. The story contained accounts from 15 former female team employees, many of whom spoke anonymously because of nondisclosure agreements with the organization.

The allegations were from 2006 to 2019 and included unwelcome comments and contact, as well as exhortations. Three staff members left the organization this week and are directly named in the report: broadcaster Larry Michael, director of pro personnel Alex Santos and assistant director of pro personnel Richard Mann II. Also included were former chief operating officer Mitch Gershman and former president of business operations Dennis Greene.

Owner Dan Snyder was not accused directly of any improper interactions but was blamed for an understaffed human resources department and for fostering the abhorrent work environment. Snyder declined to comment on the story.

NCAA President Mark Emmert laid out a dire warning in a statement Thursday: “Today, sadly, the data point in the wrong direction. If there is to be college sports in the fall, we need to get a much better handle on the pandemic.” The United States reported at least 70,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, a record daily increase for the seventh time this month.

The statement also laid out guidelines for schools to follow as they look to try to keep sports on the docket this fall, even as several conferences have already altered or canceled their seasons. Among the guidelines are daily self-health checks, the use of face masks and social distancing,  and testing with results within 72 hours for high-contact risk sports.

As the NCAA publicly outlined their plan, Sports Illustrated obtained the Power 5 conferences’ testing standards, which include: 

• 10-day isolation for positive test results
• 14-day isolation for those who come in contact with a positive case
• Weekly tests, including within 72 hours of football games

As sports properties return to live action, several are turning to biometric devices to help curb any further spread of the coronavirus among their athletes.

The LPGA and Ladies European Tour will use the WHOOP biometric technology to monitor athletes – and potentially detect COVID-19 early. The band alerted PGA golfer Nick Watney of his increased breath rate during the RBC Heritage, a symptom of the coronavirus. He then withdrew from the event after testing positive.

The PGA quickly aligned with WHOOP, which monitors respiration, heart rate, and sleep stages. The LPGA and LET will distribute more than 1,000 bands to their players and personnel.

WHOOP signed a five-year deal in 2017 to become the NFL Players Association’s official wearable, and Major League Baseball has approved WHOOP for in-game use by players. WHOOP has raised more than $100 million in venture capital to date, and investors include the NFLPA, Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, and NFL player Russell Okung, among others.

While WHOOP catches on through several sports, the NBA opted for a different wearable in Orlando: the Oura Ring. The wearable – which measures the same sort of personal stats as a WHOOP band – was a key piece of the NBA’s protocol for the bubble. The league ordered more than 2,000 devices to help prevent the silent spread through monitoring subtle symptoms. Oura counts Shaquille O’Neal and Manu Ginobili as investors.

Formula 1 is partnering with Zoom to virtually recreate its corporate hospitality business, which generated $358 million of its $2 billion in revenue during the 2019 season. The partnership is reportedly a six-figure deal.

It represents the latest step by Formula 1 to embrace technology as a way to bring in new fans and combat declining TV ratings, which dropped 3.9% last year. Formula 1 is betting drivers like 22-year-old Charles Leclerc – with his 3.2 million Instagram followers and 489,000 more on Twitch – can help draw in a new demographic.

The efforts appear to be working: The Virtual Grand Prix generated more than 94 million video views and 22 million live streams since March 16. Overall social engagement is up 30%. Last month, ESPN drew a record 752,000 viewers for the Austrian Grand Prix, up 16% from last year’s race, which was the previous record.

Formula 1’s strategy is also gaining attention from other companies in the tech world. Spotify has partnered with the organization to launch a podcast, Paddock Pass, hosted by insider Will Buxton. The series will air three times a week and takes fans around the world with interviews with drivers before and after races. The podcast follows a popular docuseries on Netflix, Formula 1: Drive to Survive, which had its second season debut in February.

Liberty Media acquired Formula 1 in 2017 for $4.4 billion when global viewership was 352 million, down from 2008’s 600 million. The circuit’s sponsorships in the past 15 years are worth more than $30 billion combined.