A registered nurse, Fire goalie Connor Sparrow asks for healthcare workers to be supported

Like most people, Fire goalkeeper Connor Sparrow admires everybody working in healthcare against COVID-19. He’s seeing the suffering of those infected, how wearing an N95 mask takes a toll on the front-line employees, and wants us as a society to support them in any way possible as they try to combat the pandemic.

“It’s not going to be gone in a few days. It’s not going to be gone over the weekend,” Sparrow said. “It’s going to be here for a good amount of time and we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to support the people that constitute our healthcare system to make sure it’s running as smoothly and efficiently as possible.”

But unlike most people, Sparrow is a registered nurse (in Tennessee and Utah). His sister Zoey is a nurse working at a hospital in St. Louis, and he has cousins who are also nurses working directly against the pandemic.

“It’s definitely a challenge for them because they’re not really advised to see our grandparents or older aunts and uncles,” Sparrow said. “That has some effect. It’s going to affect you when you’re unable to see your loved ones. They’re dealing with that, but I think they all understand that what they’re doing has sacrifices. Every job has its sacrifices. For them, it’s nothing different. It’s just something that comes with it.

“It’s all part of the job and they have to do their part, even more so than the layman has to do to keep this virus at bay.”

For Sparrow, he said it’s not really feasible for him to work as a nurse right now. He wouldn’t want to put his teammates at risk when they do eventually reunite, and he also said he talked with Zoey and they made a pact she’d be the one taking part.

But, as Connor Sparrow pointed out, in some ways everybody is taking part in the fight against the coronavirus.

“We’re all in it together and it’s not you that you’re helping,” Sparrow said. “It’s the person next to you, and it’s your grandma and your grandpa, your parents, it’s your newborn baby that you’re protecting at the end of the day. Not yourself.”

To help flatten the curve, North American sports have ground to a halt. Games aren’t being played, practices aren’t happening, and for the Fire that means their season is stuck at two games.

Sparrow had a message for Fire fans, though it works just as well for anybody.

“We just need to come together,” Sparrow said. “We need to look at the person next to us and we need to put their health and their safety above our own, in this time especially. From the club and from the team in the locker room, we thank (the fans) for (their) continued support always through this. Hopefully we’ll be able to see you soon. But if that’s not the case, just take care of each other, stay inside, wash your hands, and just be smart.

“Please continue to be smart and be safe and follow the guidelines that have been set forth.”