BELLEVILLE, Mich. – At the beginning of the season, Belleville football coach Jermain Crowell was 100% in on playing the season.
Since testing positive with COVID-19, he has a different perspective on high school sports.
Crowell said he wasn’t feeling well on Nov. 15, the Sunday after his team, which is 9-0, won against Canton.
“When I woke up, I’m in a full sweat. My head is just banging. It’s hurting to the point where I don’t want to move,” he recalled.
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At first, he thought it was the flu. He spent four days at home with a fever at 103 degrees. Once the fever broke, he thought the worst was behind him.
“When I went down my stairs, I stopped at bottom of the stairs. I had to sit down,” he said.
Crowell later tested positive for the virus. With preexisting conditions and his breathing worsening, he went to the University of Michigan hospital.
Some symptoms remain weeks later. Now, his outlook on playing football has changed.
“We’re going to give the kids three weeks off -- they’re coming off of a holiday where we know that the numbers are looking to take a jump -- and we’re going to jump back out there and we know all of this is going on? That doesn’t make sense to me,” he said.
Crowell said the hardest part is telling his kids that their dream of a state title may not come.
“I believe it (winning state title) could be life changing for all of my kids, but at the same time, it’s a game,” he said.
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