LSU Tigers redshirt senior linebacker Travez Moore is one of a growing number of college football players who have suffered from COVID-19.
On Monday night, Moore took to Twitter with a message to his followers that the “coronavirus is real.”
Travez Moore lost 27 pounds, could barely breathe due to COVID-19
Responding to a disturbing update on COVID-19 cases in the East Baton Rouge Parish, Moore shared his own experience with the coronavirus.
Moore said he went from 256 pounds down to 229 pounds — a loss of 27 pounds, which is over 10% of his body weight. He lost his appetite because he couldn’t taste or smell anything. Moore also said he could barely breathe due to complications from COVID-19.
When LSU began having football players arrive on campus back in early June, the program saw a rash of positive COVID-19 cases. At least 30 players on the team either had it or came into contact with someone who had it — necessitating a quarantine.
Recently, another LSU linebacker shared video of what the team’s COVID face shield helmets are like. It was very discouraging, as he could barely breathe and fogged up immediately, and another player said it’s like “breathing in a Ziploc bag.”
Other college football players have gotten extremely ill due to COVID-19
The account Moore gives is the third such story in the past two days that have emerged on the national stage. Other young, healthy athletes without any known underlying conditions are also getting pummeled by the effects of the novel coronavirus.
On Monday, Arizona Wildcats freshman receiver Jaden Mitchell also shared that he lost significant weight and is having trouble putting it back on. He also shared that he doesn’t know how college football is supposed to be played amid the pandemic.
Later on Monday, a harrowing story began circulating around social media. The mother of an Indiana Hoosiers offensive lineman, Brady Feeney, wrote a Facebook post serves as a cautionary tale detailing her son’s battle with COVID-19. He may have a heart issue, and blood tests indicate he may also be dealing with other troubling complications due to the coronavirus.
Meanwhile other players have begun to make the tough decision to opt-out of the 2020 college football season over health concerns.