Open Thread: NBA suspension sets tone for the cancellation of other large events
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
The pandemic is closing down more than basketball.
First, the Golden State Warriors announced they were going to have their games played without the fans. But before that tip off could come to fruition, the announcement came that Rudy Gobert had indeed tested positive for the coronavirus. The game between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder was cancelled. Suddenly, the games were no longer going to be played in empty arenas as earlier predicted. The NBA halted all thirty teams and suspended play for the rest of the season.
Rudy Gobert’s situation caused those around him to be tested which revealed that Donovan Mitchell also came up positive, though no other players tested positive at the time.
Outside of basketball, New York’s Broadway has gone dark, Major League Baseball has postponed their spring training, and even the regional festival South By Southwest has been shelved for this year. There are more events to be canceled for sure.
In entertainment news, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have also tested positive for the virus. It will be interesting to see how award-winning actors, sports personalities, and people of notoriety change the face of the coronavirus in the days to come.
With the Trump administration axing the United States Pandemic Response Team two years ago, America was left vulnerable to this exact situation. But celebrities change the landscape and timeline of response, so there’s a chance the United States gets the testing, funding, and support necessary to weather the storm.
The question is how long will the pandemic grow before it levels off and can be contained, or at least addressed?
This NBA season is lost. NHL hockey, whose season parallels basketball, has followed suit. Will baseball resume on a shortened season?
And the big question from coronavirus on a global level is what will happen to the 2020 Olympics scheduled for Japan? The Olympic torch was lit yesterday with no spectators in effort to keep the coronavirus from spreading.
It is unfortunate that a proven case of coronavirus had to be determined before the NBA shut down play, but it has sent a message of the growing need to address the coronavirus head on without downplaying the effects.
One thing is for sure – the sports world, music festivals, gatherings, and large-scale events throughout the world will be taking a second look at the facts as they plan the weeks and months to come.
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Open Thread: NBA suspension sets tone for the cancellation of other large events
Open Thread: NBA suspension sets tone for the cancellation of other large events
