Coronavirus wreaks havoc on sports nationwide
The infamous coronavirus as rendered by graphics editor Alex Roberson
The coronavirus pandemic has been one of the most influential events in United States history. Entire cities have shut down due to the fear of spreading this virus. People have been scrambling to buy goods such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer in bulk. Millions of people have lost their jobs. Although sports may seem unimportant during a time like this, it is still important to see what has happened to the sports world.
The sports world was in a fairly normal place until Wednesday, March 11th. There were people who wanted games to be attended without fans, but there was never any real possibility to most people that professional and collegiate sports could be postponed or canceled. The first domino that fell was when the NBA announced the postponement of its season due to one of its players, Rudy Gobert, testing positive for the virus. Since Gobert tested positive for the virus, almost a dozen other players were confirmed to have tested positive.
Once the NBA was canceled, everything else followed shortly thereafter. The MLB announced its season would be postponed until at least May, instead of the usual early April start date. Also being held at this time were NCAA basketball conference championship tournaments. They were all canceled within 24 hours of the NBA’s cancellation, as well as the beloved NCAA tournament that was to be held in mid-March.
To go along with this, the NCAA announced that all spring sports were canceled with no chance of resuming play. This made many people angry, as they feel the decision was made hastily.
On a more international level, the 2020 Olympics have been officially postponed until 2021. Japan had initially stated that they had no intention of postponing the event, but were forced to amidst severe backlash.
Locally, the MAIS announced that all spring sports were postponed. These sports at Prep include baseball, tennis, golf, archery, and track. This is devastating to all members of the Prep community, but even more heartbreaking for seniors, who possibly could have seen their sports careers come to an abrupt end.
This outbreak has changed all lives across America drastically. It is important we as Americans follow our government’s guidelines to ensure our own safety and be able to return to our normal lives. If we are able to do this, hopefully the sports world will once again return to its normal state.
