It was Monday morning, and people were living their lives as we normally do, with sports running as usual. For baseball fans, it was spring training, a time of rejoice because the regular season is so close to beginning. Spring Training is magical in the baseball universe. For College Sports, it was the time for all conferences to begin their championship tournaments as teams fight for the college championships. For Basketball and Hockey, it was the final stretch of the regular season, as playoff contenders started gearing up for the final push, figuring out how to play hockey that gets them closer to the sweet taste of a championship. People were worried about Coronavirus, sure, and some measures were being taken, but it was business as usual mostly. Then, everything changed.
It was Wednesday night, and the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder were getting ready for a basketball game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. All of a sudden, the Jazz medical staff was talking with the referees, and after a long delay, it was decided that the game would be postponed. No one knew why it was being postponed as the crowd went into a panic. Later that night, it was revealed that Jazz center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for the Coronavirus, or COVID-19. The results were immediately reported to the league office, where Commissioner Adam Silver swiftly decided to suspend the NBA season, effective immediately. Early the next morning, it was revealed that fellow Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell also tested positive for COVID-19. The NCAA then decided to play their conference championship games without fans in attendance, only to cancel the games anyway.
Then, the waves hit with fury. The EPL cancelled it season, as did MLS. The XFL suspended it's inaugural season, while several golf tournaments were also cancelled and/or postponed. The Boston Marathon was postponed, and the NFL cancelled their owners meetings, and prohibited in person pre-draft workouts. The NHL suspended their season as well, and asked players to remain away from the ice. MLB then suspended all operations and cancelled all remaining spring training games. In the span of three days, the sports world came grinding to a halt, and it is unknown when things will start to move forward again.
These decisions were obviously made with the interest of player and fan safety in mind, and I completely understand why the leagues are doing this. They want to do their part in making sure this virus doesn't spread more than it has, which it has spread quite swiftly. This decision does not come without a cost, however. Not just by no sports being played for the foreseeable future, but the millions of hourly employees these leagues and teams within the leagues employ. In some cases, these employees don't have a source of income to support their families as a result of this. Team owners and players from select teams throughout sports have pledged various amounts of money to hourly employees, and it seems they care about their well being as well. I like to see sports owners putting the well being of people over their own personal gain, and that's what is happening here.
If I could end this post with one piece of advice, it would be this. Do not freak out. If we remain vigilant and rational in this time of crisis, we will be able to make the right decisions, stay healthy, and do our best to stop the spreading of this virus. If you don't feel good, don't go to work or school, go see your Doctor. Exercise good hygiene habits, like washing your hands, and watching where you sneeze or cough. Clean or disinfect frequently touched areas in your home or workplace to limit germ transmission. We can't stop this virus if we don't band together and work hard to prevent it from reaching more people than it already has. So good luck everyone, and stay safe out there.
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