With the GAA's inter-county championships set to proceed despite Ireland's Level 5 restrictions, Tommy Walsh considered what is being asked of some players.
In a survey recently conducted by the GPA, almost one half of the inter-county players who responded admitted to having reservations about this year's Gaelic football and hurling championships.
While 24% stated that they would rather the season does not proceed whatsoever, a further 24% were content to play only if certain Covid-19 protocols were met.
Nevertheless, after last weekend's round of National Football League games and the hurling to come, there has been no great exodus of inter-county players unwilling to participate.
Joining Tuesday's OTB AM to offer the player's outlook, former Kilkenny hurler Tommy Walsh attempted to shine a light on the pressure facing these individuals and the measures that should be taken aid those in need of help.
"It will always be a tough decision for a player to walk away," he remarked, highlighting the importance that management teams must afford to openness within their respective panels.
"Everyone's situation is different though and you don't know who might have an elderly parent or who might be living with someone who has an underlying condition.
"There are other players who will be working on the front line. So, it is vital that managers and coaches of inter-county teams make sure that lads know they can come to them directly for a quick word."
A Kilkenny hurler under Brian Cody, Tommy Walsh enjoyed a stellar inter-county that saw him and his teammates seriously competing for the Liam MacCarthy Cup on an annual basis.
Although walking away in theory may be what best suits a player, he addressed the pressure that may exist in certain counties for whom success is a viable ambition.
"Some of these guys have been training since January for this," he noted, alert to the personal ambition that many players may find it hard to overlook now.
"The inter-county players have been doing these 5 km runs, 100 m sprints, watching their diets all this time when they weren't even sure if there would be a championship.
"Their whole lives have been geared toward this and I think the pressure they put on themselves, not wanting to let the lads down. They need to know though that they're not walking away from anybody though, they're not walking out on their county.
"You are probably braver than anyone in making the decision to step away."
17 October 2020; Ciarán Kilkenny, left, and Philip McMahon of Dublin arrive ahead of the Allianz Football League Division 1 Round 6 match between Dublin and Meath at Parnell Park in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/SportsfileProfessor Mary Horgan, the infectious diseases expert on the GAA COVID Advisory Committee, also joined Ger Gilroy and Eoin Sheahan on Tuesday's OTB AM in light of yesterday's announcement regarding the Level 5 restrictions.
In an interview you can watch back in full here, Professor Horgan addressed the concerns raised by Louth captain Bevan Duffy regarding the absence of any testing from inter-county set-ups since the return to collective action.
"A testing strategy has been put in place," she explained, "[but] there is no benefit in doing rapid testing across inter-county players. That is a screening test and it is fraught with difficulties: false positives, false negatives and it only covers a point in time.
"Routinely screening [players] without any symptoms is not currently something that we would recommend at all. If there's a case or cluster, rapid testing would kick in at that time.
"It would be there to investigate if there was a player or staff member who was positive and it could be done in support of the public health investigation that might take place.
"Other than that, there is no position for rapid, routine testing as a screening tool at this point in time. Again, that's in line with public health guidelines."
You can watch Tommy Walsh back in full on OTB AM here.
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