Facing the Prospect of Full-Capacity Sporting Events, Tennessee's Governor Shuns 'Arbitrary Measures'

Despite the pandemic’s perpetuation, some people are trying to move on with life.

In states such as Florida, society is attempting normal function.

Count Tennessee among that group.

Case in point: On Wednesday, Republican Gov. Bill Lee called in to the Outkick Podcast Network to speak with host and founder Clay Travis.

During the roughly-45-minute segment, Bill asserted The Volunteer State should be back to enjoying sports in the regular fashion.

Clay listed outdoor stadiums around the nation that have resumed full-capacity attendance.

Does Bill — he asked — want the same for the University of Memphis, the University of Tennessee, and other popular event locations?

Per Bill, that’s a big Yes.

“Yeah, absolutely. [A]nyone that goes to that event has had an opportunity to either be vaccinated or made the choice to not be vaccinated. And that means that it’s now up to individuals to make those kinds of decisions. No one’s being put at risk that doesn’t choose to be put at risk. It was one thing back in the day…when you visited a nursing home, the nursing home residents, you were putting them at risk. Or if you went somewhere and crowded in a place, you were putting other people at risk. (But) that’s over.”

Clay delved further:

“In your opinion, is it time to also consider that for indoor venues?”

The governor’s game to take that step.

“Yeah, I think it is.”

To Bill, it’s a question of managed risk:

“[T]here’s something we’ve gotta remember: We all live with some level of risk every single day for a number of different things, right? COVID was new to the scene last year, and it brought a lot of unknown risk. But we now know what the risk is, and we know how to manage that risk. And we don’t have a crisis anymore. We don’t have a hospitalization or healthcare capacity crisis. We know what it is, we know how it works, we know what the risks are, we know how it spreads.”

The state’s head honcho revealed, in fact, he’s “hoping the [NHL team, Nashville Predators] play at full capacity at [Bridgestone Arena].

It's time. Indoor and outdoor sporting events should happen without caps on attendance or other arbitrary measures. https://t.co/0vKWUZOdId

— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) May 5, 2021

It’s certainly the question of the day: At what point does the country — let alone the world — ease back into a normal, functioning society?

The lockdown has allowed for healthcare to catch up, for medical research to deliver refined treatment, and for vaccines to be created and made available to every American.

But few things are perfectly good: The past year has also seen citizens isolated and alone. In some areas, suicide has surged.

Lockdown or lock-in? Fears of alcoholism, addiction in confinement https://t.co/BnIngVV9jV pic.twitter.com/ZMw3C7Q6b3

— TODAY (@TODAYonline) March 29, 2020

According to Gov. Bill, it’s time to treat the virus as other threats to safety:

“It’s a managed health issue like any other managed health issue that we have. And we don’t make radical adjustments in any other way for a managed health issue. And we shouldn’t.”

He did note the past year’s needed efforts:

“Changes were important; we had to do it when it was right to do it.”

Nonetheless, he surmised, “There’s a time for things to snap back.”

I hope we do. I hope we can.

We’ve certainly taken a detour that’s altered a lot.

Personally, I believe the country can come out of its hibernation having learned some valuable things — such as what’s important in life.

If we can do that, ultimately, life will be even more worth living and staying healthy to enjoy

As for Governor Bill Lee, he sounds ready and willing.

“We’re gonna have COVID with us for a long time,” he said. “So we can’t make decisions based on the fact that someone might get infected. That’s gonna be true from here on, forward. So we should live life, we should open for business, and we should move ahead with what we’ve got.”

Lastly, Clay asked Bill if he’s supportive of mandatory vaccines for sporting events.

You probably guessed: