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According to the Associated Press, the league released a 108-page memo on Tuesday that includes policy on testing, arrival dates, on-campus rules, practice/training availabilities, games, traveling parties, hotels, food and amenities.
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association created these protocols while getting guidance from the nation’s leading health expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
If someone tests positive for the coronavirus, the league will not need to shut down as it did in March.
Some Disney staffers will be entering and leaving the campus but won’t be around the players. Other Disney employees will be, but precautions are in place to minimize the chance of a positive COVID-19 test.
“We’re gonna be daily testing,” Silver said on ESPN. “I think that’s one of the best safeguards for them. Of course, if we do get a positive test, we’ll be very specifically tracing exactly what context those people had, and then ... we’ll be isolating anybody who tests positive.”
The rate of positive coronavirus tests in the Orlando area has gone up.
“No one is suggesting that this is going to be an infection-free, guaranteed environment. I guess, unless we go to ... well, where would we go? What state has the lowest rate? There's just no way of finding a sterile environment probably on this planet, but certainly, not in this country," Roberts said.
She isn’t surprised by the numbers. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was one of the first to re-open his state during the pandemic.
“I've watched this governor behave as if the virus is an inconvenience as opposed to a virus," Roberts said. "So, I guess watching the way the state is adhering or not adhering to CDC guidelines, it's not surprising that these numbers would go up."
DeSantis believes Florida’s recent numbers are because of more testing and other reasons.
But the hope is, with the extensive safety procedures in place by the NBA, a spread won’t occur.
"These protocols are designed to promote prevention and mitigation strategies to reduce exposure to, and transmission of, the coronavirus," the league said. "However, it is possible that staff, players, or other participants in the resumption of the 2019-20 season nonetheless may test positive or contract the coronavirus."
Players will have the chance to wear a “proximity alarm” that will sound off when someone is within six feet of them for more than five seconds. They can also wear a ring that can monitor things such as temperature and respiratory and heart rate.
In addition to safety, the NBA has addressed the growing social issues that are occurring globally.
Some players have expressed concern that re-starting the season will take attention away from the fight against racial injustice.
Former player and NBA champion Stephen Jackson, a friend of George Floyd, believes now is not the time for basketball.
Silver says he respects that point of view, but he believes relaunching the season will be a tremendous avenue for players to bring awareness to these issues.
“The platform that this league has is an enormous global platform, and incidentally you see on the news these George Floyd protests are happening all over the world,” Silver said during a roundtable on the NBA’s Twitter account. “It’s not just the United States. And the NBA has, for example, a social media platform that reaches 1.8 billion people around the world.
“Going back to play basketball is not gonna stop the protests,” Johnson said. “I think it can give it some more even juice.”
Johnson says the Black Lives Matter movement will continue.
“You have to remember, this is a worldwide movement, and so nothing’s gonna stop. It will continue and then, when the guys are there, let’s get together, huddle up. Let’s plan something really strong, so when we’re done — Adam, the players, Michele Roberts, everybody can stand there and say, ‘Hey, this is what we decided to do, and it’s gonna bring real change in the inner cities and urban America. Where we live, where we play, this is gonna bring some real change.’ That’s what I would love to see happen.
“I’m so passionate about this I’m going crazy right now,” Johnson said with a huge smile.
If a player decides not go to Orlando, Silver told ESPN Monday, “We also have an arrangement with the Players Association where if a player choses not to come it’s not a breach of his contract. We accept that.”
That applies health, social or any other reason. While a player won’t be disciplined, there’s a chance some salary could be lost.
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