NBA shuts down league after coronavirus enters league
Following news that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the pandemic known as the coronavirus, the NBA has suspended its season.
per KSL Sports
This is the latest league to take precautionary measures during these troubling times. Early today the NCAA announced that the coveted tournament will proceed with “essential staff and limited family attendance. The NBA issued their statement before tip-off between the Jazz and the OKC Thunder stating, “The NBA is suspending gameplay following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice. The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.”
What was just talked about as a possibility no more than three days ago has quickly become our harsh reality. The news broke during the telecast between the Denver Nuggets And Dallas Mavericks on ESPN Wednesday night.
The NBA has been taking necessary precautions in the wake of the epidemic, restricting media and personnel access that extended from the court to the locker rooms. Then just two days ago, there was talk of the NBA continuing to operate without fans in attendance which raised a stir in the sports community for good and bad reasons. Now shockingly, that dreaded possibility has come quicker than expected.
As players, coaches, fans, and media members alike try and wrap their heads around this news, we now look at what’s to come to the league. The health of Gobert is the most important as well as taking the next precautionary steps to test anyone that could have been affected by the Jazz center. The NBA ended up having to cancel the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings matchup on ESPN because of referee Courtney Kirkland being known to officiate in a recent Jazz game. Gobert was caught on video touching multiple mics as a joke following Monday’s shootaround.
And then there’s the news that there have been “34 players” known to have been in contact with Gobert since Friday, per ESPN sources. Jazz and Thunder players have been placed in quarantine in the Chesapeake Energy Arena and will be staying overnight in the arena while the NBA test for more cases.
There is no time table for when to expect the NBA to resume. For all we know, the NBA season could be postponed to the end of March, possibly longer with the rate of the diseases spreading. The known people to be at higher risk for the disease are older people with weaker immune systems. With that, questions remain if NBA players are truly at risk due to their demographic fitting the description of people who are less at risk. Already, Orlando Magic’s guard Evan Fournier shared he had talked with Gobert and that he is doing “fine.”
Gobert, had his results came back negative, was ready to play tonight so the health of the players is sure to come up during discussions that are expected to be held today by commissioner Adam Silver.
However you feel about, it is no doubt that this unprecedented territory for not only the NBA but all sports worldwide. Many sporting events have already been affected and there’s possibly more will be soon. March Madness is around the corner and Wrestlemania is almost three weeks away. People questions if there should even be tournaments with this virus out and if leagues will follow the NBA approach to just suspend all activity.
With so little information out about the virus, the NBA has another tragedy in 2020 that shuts down the league for the foreseeable future.
