One of the main industries that has been affected by the coronavirus a.k.a. COVID-19, is sports. Especially sports that are in season. Basketball in particular has taken a hit as the NBA has suspended its season for 30 days while the NCAA Tournament has been canceled. What's been weird to see is how everything went from "we'll play the games and see how things play out" to "we'll play the games with no fans and only essential personnel" to "shut it down, let's go home" to borrow the words of Dirk Nowitzki.
I understand we need to take this virus seriously, wash our hands more often, stay inside if we feel sick, but what exactly accounts for the rapid change in approaches? Did the virus suddenly become more dangerous? Did the virus team up with the Black Plague? What happened? There's not really a good answer to that question.
The only thing that seems to have tipped everything is the news that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell both have the coronavirus. It was actually Gobert testing positive that set everything in motion. It wasn't until later that we also learned about Mitchell. As soon as Gobert tested positive, the Jazz-Thunder game at Oklahoma City was suspended and then the NBA immediately decided to suspend its season.
From there, the Pac-12, SEC, Big East, and other NCAA conferences made the decision to cancel their tournaments. After that, the NCAA decided to cancel the NCAA Tournament, ruining that one shining moment that every college basketball player dreams about. From there, the NHL made the decision to suspend their season and now we find ourselves in a world where every major sports league from golf to tennis to soccer to baseball is suspended indefinitely. On top of that, the schools are all shutting down, etc.
One has to wonder if Rudy Gobert hadn't tested positive if the NCAA Tournament would still be planned to be played in front of no fans. I'm not blaming Gobert. It's not his fault. But it is a fact that his positive test for coronavirus seems to have been the one singular event that tipped everything over the edge both in the world of sports and the world at large.
It's a little ironic in that earlier in the week Gobert was joking about how the whole virus was being blown out of proportion, touching microphones and all to prove a point. I sympathize with his feelings, but there's a lesson here. If you think something like this is absurd, keep it to yourself. Otherwise, your actions may come back to haunt you.
But anyways, moving on from Gobert, we now live in a world where the NBA has been suspended for at least 30 days while the NCAA Tournament has been canceled. As a basketball fan, it's incredibly frustrating. The NCAA Tournament in particular is a special event and to have it called off just feels wrong. It's like a big part of our year has been sucked down the drain and there's nothing we can do about it aside from voice our complaints and hope somebody more important than us takes our complaints seriously.
Personally, I wish the NCAA Tournament would instead plan to resume in May or something along those lines. The NBA can change the date of its draft to accommodate those that want to play in the tournament while the NCAA I think can make a one-time exception given these unique circumstances. Jay Bilas expressed frustration about this very point earlier in the week. Like, why cancel? Why not postpone? Why not at least leave the door open for the tournament to resume? If canceling is necessary, why is that the only option?
The NCAA needs to give us an answer because so far, they've handled this whole thing very poorly. To go from "we'll play with no fans" to "we're not playing at all" thing is just silly. It shows nobody knows what's actually going on and everyone is just hopping on the bandwagon to cancel stuff because it's the only course of action they can think of or are willing to follow through with.
Anyways, I hope this all blows over sooner than later. People are being affected in a very real way by this. They're losing money, losing work, etc. We as a society need to come together to mitigate the damage as much as possible. That's why it's nice to see Zion Williamson, Kevin Love, and many NBA and NHL team owners volunteer to pay the expenses of those who work at these games while they're out of work. It's a very nice gesture and is the kind of gesture that's going to get us through this.
For those that are reading this, my final piece of advice to all of you is to stay calm. Don't chug bleach and freak out. Wash your hands more, stay inside if you are feeling sick, and keep a safe distance from people. That is a good place to start. But don't be afraid to go outside and maybe help a small business in your neighborhood by buying a cup of coffee or a sandwich. Sanity and calmness will get us through this. Panic and hysteria will only make things worse. Be part of the solution and not the problem. If you know people that are freaking out, don't make fun of them. Help them. Try to calm them down. Simple acts of kindness will go a long ways.
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