Flood the Zone with Team Masks

It’s apparent that the near-universal wearing of masks on trains and buses will be key to continuing to suppress the virus so people can return to work and children to school. Wouldn’t it be great if the wealthy owners of our local sports teams would step up to the plate? What if team-branded face masks, now widely available on team websites but apparently seen by those owners as a revenue stream, were handed out for free on buses and in subway stations, accompanied by TV and on-line public service announcements featuring star players asking their fans to wear them? TV station and social media platform owners could do their part by granting free airtime for the PSAs. Masks could also be placed in post offices and other public spaces. If wearing your team’s mask were to become a way to display your team loyalty, maybe some of the reluctant sports fans among us would wear them, and we would all benefit. It might be especially helpful to boost compliance among high-school students and young adults, who currently seem the most reluctant age group.

[Submitted as letter to the editor of The Boston Globe but not selected for publication.]