UCLA's Chip Kelly's Biggest Concern Is Players' 'Mental Health' Amid COVID-19

UCLA head coach Chip Kelly has expressed concern about the mental and emotional well-being of his players during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Speaking to The Athletic's Bruce Feldman in an interview published Friday, Kelly explained why the mental health of his players is his biggest worry:

"We're all aware of what's going on in the world. We see what's been going on in Italy and now what's going on in New York City, but until someone directly in your family gets it, it seems far away. My biggest concern is for their mental health. Before if a player was dealing with the loss of a family member or someone was really sick, it was gonna be let's go see him, or come over to the office. When kids aren't on campus anymore, now it's gonna be done remotely. With us being away, we're anxious. The numbers will tell you that someone is gonna be dealing with it, and it's gonna be sooner rather than later."

Kelly cited the story of 25-year-old former All-American lacrosse player Jack Allard, who had no underlying health issues, being placed into a medically induced coma after a lab test with his positive coronavirus test was lost and caused a delay in his treatment. 

"That's the stuff that keeps you up at night," Kelly told Feldman. "I lost my dad three years ago, and I still think about that every day. And he was in [his] 80s. You're never prepared for any of it."

Feldman noted UCLA is in the process of setting up accommodations to bring back possibly "a dozen or two dozen" football players to campus and provide them grab-and-go meals. 

On March 10, UCLA was among many colleges in the state of California to cancel in-person classes to guard against the spread of the coronavirus.