You’ve got to give professional team sports leagues an “E” for “Effort.”
Major league enterprises have been putting forth their best-laid plans to capture at least a portion of revenues lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even baseball overcame its long history of owner/union animosity to agree this week on a truncated 60-game regular season schedule.
Unfortunately, despite their efforts, they’re all going to earn a final grade of “Incomplete.” Oh, we may see some of them attempt to start (or, in the case of the NBA and NHL, resume). None of them, though, will finish their seasons.
This prediction gives me no joy. As a fan of team sports, I’m beyond craving now, having gone over 100 days without any games to watch. Still, it’s beyond hubris for anyone—fans, players, owners, etc.—to believe we can beat this novel coronavirus by simply going about our business. I make the same argument with my own children when they’re itching to go out—the only sure way to avoid infection is to not be around people.
As you’ll see among the subsections below, some sports aren’t even trying. Here’s a breakdown, by sport:
NBA
You can probably throw Major League Soccer in here as well, since both leagues plan on using the same “bubble” concept with similar safety protocols.
Unfortunately, that bubble is located on Disney World property in Orlando, one of the current hotbeds for COVID-19 infections. Since Florida’s governor seems to hold the view that accurate data could make him look bad, the state’s record numbers of caseloads, hospitalizations and deaths in the last couple of weeks may even be understated.
A report by the Florida Department of Health showed that only the city of Miami had more COVID-19 infections than Orlando. Tuesday’s testing results from Orange County, where presumably most of Disney World’s hotel employees reside, showed a 17.3% positive rate. An uptick in hospitalizations and deaths will surely follow in the coming weeks.
Right around that time, NBA players are supposed to begin descending into Orlando. In the Athletic’s informal poll of 10 of the 22 general managers of participating teams, there was a clear consensus that the bubble was far from airtight due to the hotel staff’s freedom to come and go. That raised concerns that even the most rigid testing plans could prove to be too late to prevent community spread.
For those who believe that COVID-19 poses little risk to professional athletes in peak condition, there is a randomness to this disease that has proven its ability to either take the life or create permanent damage in young people.
Of course, the virus isn’t the only issue affecting players’ desire to return to the court. Some have expressed concerns over how to stay involved in the Black Lives Matter movement or about the injury risks associated with a sudden ramp-up after over four months off, especially for those about to become free agents. That’s why I’m surprised that only three NBA players as of this writing have opted out of the bubble.
The NBA was the first league to shut down operations after Utah center Rudy Gobert tested positive prior to a game in Oklahoma City. The only question remaining is how many infections in Orlando would it take for the league to again say, “No mas.”
NHL
As of Friday, 11 players have already tested positive during “Phase 2” workouts on home rinks. Games are in “Phase 4.” Who knows when that will be? The league has yet to set its two bubble destinations or dates for those games. Nor has it released a health and safety plan.
Good luck with that.
MLB
I expected nothing less from this league than the most ill-conceived plan. Oh, it’s quite detailed and it’s got some of the obvious stuff covered, like a spitting ban and “discouraging” locker room showers. And the media will be kicked out an hour after postgame video-conference interviews end.
Unfortunately, there are no bubbles. No quarantines at home. While players are required to remain in their rooms on the road, they’ll face the same exposures as NBA players when it comes to hotel services such as food preparation and delivery. They’ll also be travelling frequently.
More disturbingly, I didn’t see any restrictions for when the players return home. You’d think athletes would know by now how to practice social distancing, but have you seen tennis star Novak Djokovic’s dance party?
The MLB safety plan attempts to minimize risks, but isn’t that just another way of saying that teams will be crossing their fingers? Over 40 MLB players and staff members have tested positive in the last week, forcing closures of all training camp facilities.
The run-up to the ultimate format of the 2020 season was fraught with dysfunction, with owners and players bickering over profit-sharing instead of the important stuff like risk of life. I can’t see this ending well either.
NFL
What pandemic? The NFL machine wants you to know that it plans to operate with the same mentality as that of a coach who keeps calling running plays into the middle of the line on every first-and-ten until the game is lost. “You’ll see, we’ll break through.”
Unfortunately, the virus is impenetrable. Not only that, it will thrive in the colder months when opposing linemen spew droplets on each other.
At least the stakeholders have the benefit of time. Training camps are still over a month away and the schedule took into account the possibility for delays due to COVID-19 concerns.
Still, the virus isn’t going away with an NFL decree that it’s time for football. The only game plan to beat it will come from scientists, who unfortunately do not have a vaccine or even an effective therapeutic coming around the corner.
Sayonara, sports in 2020.
For a FAN’s perspective of the Nets, Devils and Jets, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1.