Lou Holtz compares college football's covid risks to D-Day: 'There were going to be risks'

According to Lou Holtz, there’s no differences between playing college football this season during a pandemic and allied forces storming the beaches of northern France on June 6, 1944.

Holtz, the former football coach most notably at Notre Dame, reacted Tuesday when the heads of the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences announced their leagues will not play this year.

The College Football Hall of Famer was a guest on Fox News to offer his displeasure about the fact college football could be postponed for 2020.

Lou Holtz tells Fox News that college football needs to play amid coronavirus pandemic this fall: "Let's move on with our life! When they stormed Normandy, they knew there were going to be casualties -- there were going to be risks." pic.twitter.com/zZZ5qrFRFb

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 11, 2020

“I think they should play, but that’s my thing. If you have an asthma problem or you’re a diabetic or have a legitimate reason that you don’t want to play, absolutely, don’t play. The rest of you that want to play, let’s go play,” Holtz said. “We shut everything down for six months. I’m going crazy if I’m being quarantined. I think other people are tired of it. Let’s move on with our life. When they stormed Normandy, they knew there were going to be casualties and there were going to be risks.”

Holtz, who was born in Follansbee, W.Va., and grew up in nearby East Liverpool, Ohio, went on to downplay the effects of coronavirus, saying only a small percentage go to the hospital for covid-19 before claiming college football players face very little risk from the disease.

“I don’t know of a college player that has tested positive for covid-19 who has gone to the hospital,” he declared, adding, “I’m not minimizing it, but sometimes we’ve got to move on in this country.”

According to a report from The Athletic, the Big Ten is aware of at least 10 players who have the rare heart condition myocarditis, which reportedly has a high prevalence in people who have contracted covid-19.

As many as 800 college football players have tested positive for the virus this summer, according to Sports Illustrated. The magazine claimed the actual number is likely much higher.

At least five top college players have decided to forgo the season to prepare for the NFL draft, citing concerns about coronavirus transmission.

“Because we announced a schedule does not mean we’re going to play,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said. “As you gather information on a daily basis, that’s what day-to-day is. We have to still plan. By organizing schedules and making announcements, we made it very clear — I thought I was very clear in that it’s a day-to-day decision, and we’re going to do what’s best for the health and wellness of our student-athletes.”