UPDATE: Sports world call timeout as COVID-19 make its impact on the nation;IOC postpones 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
The Santa Monica men's soccer team, who are ranked 3rd in the Western State Conference, took on Allan Hancock College, who are ranked 2nd in the same conference, on November 5th, 2019, at Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, Calif. The game ended in a tie at 0-0, leaving Santa Monica with a battle to make it to the top spot with only a few games left in the regular season.(Photo by Michael Waas/The Corsair)
UPDATE March 23, 2020 1:30 PST—After professional leagues, and collegiate athletics suspended or cancelled their seasons due to COVID-19 talks amongst olympic athletes, and others started to ramp up about postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Summer games that is due to start July 24. Sunday night the International Olympics Committee (IOC) initially announced that it would take four weeks to come up with a postponement decision; in response the Athletes Association surveyed an estimated 4,000 olympic athletes on if they would want to see the olympics postponed, and 78 percent said yes. The IOC swiftly changed their decision, as IOC member Dick Pound told USA Today, “On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound did not specify what information prompted this decision, only one can wonder if the enormous amount of athletes that voted “yes” when they were surveyed helped make this decision easier for the IOC.
The only certainty that the IOC and Japanese official can assure is that the summer games will be postponed to 2021, as for a date and logistics that is still to be decided.
March 22, 2020 2:00 PST—With the United States in a panic state to flatten the curve of the coronavirus, the National Basketball Association (NBA) community -- and the sports world -- began to see the infectious disease hit closer, and closer to home. Beginning March 11, before a Wednesday evening game between Utah and Oklahoma City, the contest had to be stopped, and at the time postponed due to news that a player from Utah tested positive for coronavirus. The player turned out to be star Center Rudy Gobert. The league decided that night to suspend the season, putting it on a 30-day hiatus. The next morning, fans and season ticket holders received a letter from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stating how the league was going to operate moving forward, and their sentiments of contributing to spreading the virus: “The Hiatus will last at least 30 days, and we intend to resume the season, if and when it becomes safe for all concerned.”
It was the first domino to fall that made the rest of the sports world fall in line. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) followed suit, cancelling all conference tournament games that were in play, and later decided to cancel the highly anticipated NCAA March Madness national basketball tournament. It was unprecedented given the reputation of the NCAA, but the circumstance called for unprecedented measures. With the state basketball tournament ongoing for California community colleges, the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) decided to cancel the remainder of the tournament in its elite eight round. The CCCAA also went ahead, and cancelled the remainder of winter sports, and spring sports with hopes of giving those players another year of eligibility.
Next came Major League Baseball (MLB), as they suspended their spring training camp, along with spring exhibition games, and the start of opening day. On March 12 the National Hockey League (NHL) suspended their season, and just like the NBA they were on the brink of their postseason. Major League Soccer (MLS) went ahead and suspended the rest of their season as well. For the National Football League (NFL), they were in a unique situation with the start of the new league year, and also the start of free agency. So, the NFL suggested teams find alternative options to talk to players, instead of the traditional face-to-face visits that happen during free agency. Teams also had to find ways to acquire physicals for their new players, since they closed down their team facilities and there aren’t any team doctors available to complete the physicals.
Some notable players and coaches who have tested positive include: Brooklyn Nets Forward Kevin Durant, Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, Detroit Pistons Forward Christian Wood, three unnamed members of the Philadelphia 76ers organization, two unnamed New York Yankees minor league players, the first one if the NFL to test positive is New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.
The NBA has discussed the possibility resuming the season mid-to-late June, but with more players, coaches, and front office members testing positive for coronavirus, the timeline is being jeopardized with each and every new case. Sports fans across the nation and around the world are having to cope with the inability to watch their favorite team or sport. Some fans were getting ready to watch their favorite basketball or hockey team get ready for playoffs, while some were getting excited to see baseball finally come back on opening day. College hoop fans were ready to fill out their brackets for March Madness, watching and hoping they picked every team right. For now, the adrenaline from the exciting rush of watching our favorite teams is gone, but during this time without sports, fans are relying on old highlight tapes, and video games like NBA 2k, or Madden to get their daily fix.
