Coronavirus Pandemic shuts down the sports world
The NBA announced on Wednesday night that they will suspend the season until further notice after a player tested positive for the coronavirus.
Here’s what we know so far:
– Shortly after 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, the NBA suspended its season after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the coronavirus.
-Utah Jazz All-Star Rudy Gobert is the confirmed player who tested positive for the virus right before tip off of Utah’s game against Oklahoma City. Gobert was taken to Mercy Medical Center in downtown Oklahoma City to be tested for the virus, which resulted in the postponement of the game between the Jazz and the Thunder.
– Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell has also tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Mitchell went to Instagram to address the diagnosis and to thank those who have reached out to him following the announcement.
“Thanks to everyone who has been reaching out since hearing the news about my positive test,” Mitchell said. “We are all learning more about the seriousness of this situation and hopefully people can continue to educate themselves and realize that they need to behave responsibly both for their own health and for the well being of those around them. “I appreciate the authorities in Oklahoma who were helpful with the testing process and everyone from the Utah Jazz who have been so supportive. I am going to keep following the advice of our medical staff and hope that we can all come together and be there for each other and our neighbors who need our help.”
– According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Gobert had been careless in the locker room in terms of touching other players and their belongings despite warnings about the severity of the situation. Here is a video of Gobert jokingly touching several reporters’ audio equipment two days ago following a press conference.
– The game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings, which was supposed to be the last scheduled game before the suspension, was postponed as well. Courtney Kirkland, one of the referees who was scheduled to officiate that game, was sent home because he was part of the crew that officiated the Utah Jazz vs. the Toronto Raptors game on Monday.
– The league has told teams that have played Utah in the last 10 days that they should self-quarantine. Utah’s opponents since March 2 include the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, and Toronto Raptors.
– There are 259 NBA games, roughly 21% of the schedule, left to play this season, and no one knows if, or when, things will resume.
– The Wells Fargo Center announced all Philadelphia 76ers, Flyers, and Wings games scheduled at the Wells Fargo Center are postponed until further notice. All other events scheduled through March 31 will be rescheduled.
– According to Eagles Chairman/CEO Jeffrey Lurie, the NovaCare Complex and Lincoln Financial Field will be closed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
– The NCAA has canceled Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments (March Madness), as well as all remaining winter and spring championships. The men’s basketball conference tournaments have been canceled as well. This includes the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12, Big East, American, Atlantic 10, Conference USA, MAC, America East, Big Sky, and WAC. This coming a day after they announced that they will be holding the men and women’s NCAA tournaments without fans due to the coronavirus. Now all canceled.
– The NHL is following the NBA’s lead and is also suspending its season because of the coronavirus pandemic. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that today they will “pause the 2019‑20 season beginning with tonight’s games.”
– The MLB has suspended the remaining of spring training games and baseball operations indefinitely, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Passan also reports that the league will delay the 2020 Opening Day by at least two weeks.
– The XFL announced Thursday that it has indefinitely suspended its inaugural season after five games due to the coronavirus outbreak, but plans to return in 2021.
– The PGA Tour has canceled THE PLAYERS Championship, the Valspar Championship, the WGC- Dell Match Play Championship, and all other events through the Valero Texas Open, which was scheduled for April 2-5. The 2020 Masters Tournament will also be postponed according to Augusta National officials. The Masters, which dates to 1934, has never been played outside of March or April.
– NASCAR has postponed the race events at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend and Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend due to the coronavirus outbreak.
– The UFC announced it will continue with its scheduled fight cards this weekend as UFC Fight Night 170, headlined by Charles Oliveira vs. Kevin Lee, will go ahead as planned in Brazil in front of an empty arena. The preliminary card will begin at 2 p.m. (CST) on ESPN with the main card beginning at 5 p.m. (CST) on ESPN-Plus.
– The MLS announced it has suspended all games, effective immediately, for 30 days as it continues to assess the impact of the coronavirus.
– The Premier League, FA, EFL, and WSL have come together and decided to suspend play with the intention of returning on April 4.
– International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound confirmed that the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo will be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, likely until 2021.
– Among those who also tested positive for the virus include: Four Brooklyn Nets players, including Kevin Durant, Pistons Forward Christian Wood, Celtics Guard Marcus Smart, three unidentified members of the Philadelphia 76ers organization, two unidentified Los Angeles Lakers players, one unidentified member of the Denver Nuggets organization, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, two unidentified Ottawa Senators players, Actor Tom Hanks, Actress Rita Wilson (wife of Hanks), former NBA player Jason Collins, Brazilian public official Fabio Wajngarten, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Juventus defender Daniele Rugani.
– President Donald Trump announced he’s restricting travel on foreign visitors from most of Europe for 30 days in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
