Virus forces Orlando out of NWSL event
Days before the National Women's Soccer League was slated to return to play through the NWSL Challenge Cup, the Orlando Pride, one of the league's nine teams, withdrew from the competition because of an outbreak of COVID-19.
"This was obviously a difficult and disappointing outcome for our players, our staff and fans, however this is a decision that was made in order to protect the health of all involved in the Challenge Cup,” Pride executive vice president Amanda Duffy said in a statement. “While we were all excited to see the 2020 Pride on the field this weekend, our priority is now making sure our players and staff safely recover and providing any support wherever and however possible.”
The Orlando Sentinel reported that six Pride players and four staff members tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
The NWSL had announced the rules and regulations for the monthlong tournament on Monday. It will need to restructure its competition format before Saturday, when the tournament was scheduled to start in Utah. It will run until July 26. In other soccer news:
• Sky Blue FC midfielder Carli Lloyd will not travel with the team to Utah to compete in the NWSL Challenge Cup after injuring her left knee.
Lloyd — a U.S. women’s national team co-captain — has been doing rehabilitation work since the offseason and previously hoped to be fully recovered in time for the tournament that starts on Saturday.
• Australia and New Zealand became the clear favorites to jointly host the 2023 Women’s World Cup after Japan withdrew from bidding ahead of the FIFA vote on Thursday.
The combined South Pacific bid performed significantly stronger than its only remaining rival, Colombia, in the FIFA inspection report — scoring 4.1 to 2.8.
Japan was marked 3.9 out of 5 and was likely to split the voting on FIFA’s ruling council among the seven Asian Football Confederation representatives.
PRO BASKETBALL Wizards’ Bertans to sit out restart
Washington Wizards forward Davis Bertans will skip the Disney-based resumption of the NBA season, making him the first known example of a healthy, eligible player sitting out.
Bertans can become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and is expected to command a big contract as one of the league’s top 3-point shooters.
The Wizards are allowed to sign a replacement player for Bertans as early as Tuesday.
In his first season with Washington after being acquired from San Antonio as part of a three-team deal in July 2019, the 6-10, 225-pound forward from Latvia was averaging 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists as a reserve when the season was halted in March.
In other news:
• The Toronto Raptors arrived in southwest Florida, set to begin their preparations for next month’s restart of the NBA season.
If the Raptors return to the NBA Finals, they could be in Florida for nearly four full months.
The reigning NBA champions will start training for the season restart later this week at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, making that school their home base until they head north to the Disney complex near Orlando, Fla., around July 7.
What awaits the Raptors is a different setup than what will be the case for the other 21 NBA teams that will be participating in the restart at Disney. Other teams will be working out at their home facilities, but as the NBA’s lone team from outside the U.S., the Raptors would have had some logistical difficulties in having players gather in Toronto to prepare for the trip to Disney.
Under Canadian rules, Raptors players who have been in the U.S. would have had to quarantine for 14 days upon their return to Toronto, so the team decided to hold its precamp workouts in the U.S.
• Connecticut Sun center Jonquel Jones has decided not to play in the WNBA this season because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
Jones led the Sun to the WNBA Finals last year, averaging 17.9 points and 10.4 rebounds in the postseason after putting up 14.6 points and 9.7 during the regular season.
Washington Mystics players Natasha Cloud and LaToya Sanders also are opting out of participating in the season for the league’s reigning champions.
In a social media posting, Cloud cited a desire to “fight on the front lines for social reform,” while Sanders explained in a statement issued by the club that taking the season off “is what’s best for my health and family.”