Sporting world grinds to a historic halt
Coronavirus pandemic prompts scores of cancellations and postponements
Sports organizations around the world continued their adjustment to the harrowing realities of the global coronavirus outbreak on Thursday and Friday, with a number of them announcing plans to suspend operations.
In the United States, NASCAR postponed Sunday’s race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and the March 22 race at Homestead-miami speedway, and the NCAA cancelled the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments scheduled to begin next week.
The NHL announced it is pausing its season, while MLB suspended spring training games and delayed the start of its regular season.
The PGA Tour cancelled the Players Championship after one round.
Here are the latest developments:
NASCAR AND INDYCAR
NASCAR announced Friday that Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the March 22 race at Homestead-miami speedway have been postponed. The races originally were to be run without fans present before the circuit changed its mind on Friday.
“We believe this decision is in the best interest of the safety and well-being of our fans, competitors, officials and everyone associated with our sport,” the circuit said on Twitter. “We will continue to monitor this dynamic situation as we assess future race events.”
Sunday’s Indycar race in St. Petersburg, Fla., which likewise was to be run in the absence of fans, also has been postponed. All Indycar races through April have been cancelled.
Little League International announced on Friday that it is recommending that its leagues suspend all activities until at least April 6.
“For those leagues that have already begun their seasons, we kindly ask that you postpone all league activity that may involve the gathering of individuals for games, practices, events, or meetings,” the organization said on its website. “If you have not started your season, we kindly ask that you modify your schedule and season plans to start no earlier than April 6.”
The start date of the Little League International Tournament has not yet been postponed, and Little League International said it “will be considerate of the missed game play opportunities as we establish a new policy for tournament eligibility for the 2020 tournament season.”
The Little League World Series is scheduled for Aug. 20-30 this year.
U E FA
Almost every European soccer league or competition that hadn’t shut down did so Friday, with UEFA cancelling next week’s Champions League and Europa League matches, and professional leagues in England, France and Germany calling off matches for the rest of the month.
A decision has yet to be made on this summer’s Euro 2020 national team competition. The tournament reportedly may be delayed until 2021 to give Europe’s professional leagues more time to finish their seasons.
PGA
The PGA Tour announced Thursday evening that it was discontinuing the Players Championship after one round was played, and it was cancelling all events on its tours through the Valero Texas Open, which was to take place April 2-5.
“We did everything possible to create a safe environment for our players in order to continue the event throughout the weekend, and we were endeavouring to give our fans a much-needed respite from the current climate,” the PGA Tour said. “But at this point — and as the situation continues to rapidly change — the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause.”
Sometimes referred to as golf’s “fifth major,” the Players Championship had its usual throngs of fans in attendance as it started play Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The PGA Tour had said fans would not be allowed Friday and for the remainder of the tournament, before it decided to take further measures. There was no word on whether the Players Championship — which saw Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama take the lead by two strokes with an opening round 63 — would be rescheduled.
UFC
UFC president Dana White said Thursday that his company would continue to stage its upcoming events, beginning with one Saturday in Brazil that won’t have fans in attendance.
The following weekend, a UFC card in London will “proceed as planned,” as British authorities are currently placing no restrictions on sports events.
That’s far from the case in Ohio, and White said that an event that was slated to take place in Columbus on March 28 will be moved to an arena that the UFC owns in Las Vegas. He added that the UFC was working with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to “screen athletes” before letting them compete.
Saying his company has always gone “overboard with health and safety,” White told ESPN: “I talked to the president and the vice-president of the United States today about this, and they’re taking this very serious. They’re saying, ‘Be cautious, be careful, but live your life and stop panicking.’
“Everybody is panicking, and instead of panicking, we’re actually getting out there and working with doctors and health officials and the government, to figure out how we keep the sport safe and how we can continue to put on events.”
XFL
The XFL announced Thursday that it won’t be playing the rest of its regular-season slate. The league, which began play this year, said it was “committed to playing a full season in 2021 and future years.” The XFL also made sure to note that “all players will be paid their base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular season.”
At this point, the XFL is halfway through its 10-week schedule. The league appeared to leave open the possibility that it might stage a post-season at some point.
F1 RACING
After a member of Mclaren Racing tested positive for coronavirus and the Formula One team withdrew from the Australian Grand Prix, the entire event was cancelled on Thursday.
The International Automobile Federation announced it made that decision in conjunction with Formula One and with the “full support” of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, after consulting with the nine other teams entered in the race.
NWSL
The National Women’s Soccer League is cancelling its pre-season slate after “receiving guidance from local and state authorities and medical personnel,” the organization announced on Thursday. The NWSL regular season is set to begin April 18.
“Our priority continues to be the safety and well-being of our players, coaches, staff, and fans,” NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird said in a statement. “We are reviewing all contingency plans related to our regular season schedule and are monitoring developing events and their potential impact.”
NCAA
After announcing on Wednesday that its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments would be closed to the public, NCAA president Mark Emmert and the board of governors on Thursday announced in a statement they had cancelled the events, as well as all remaining winter and spring
NCAA championships. The men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, scheduled to begin next week, had been held every year since 1939 for men’s college teams and 1982 for women’s teams.
The Colonial Athletic Association announced on Thursday that a game official who worked at its men’s basketball tournament last week has tested positive for coronavirus.
“The official didn’t exhibit symptoms of the virus until 72 hours after the game he worked,” the conference said, “but out of an abundance of caution, the conference has made the involved institutions and tournament personnel aware of the situation so they can take proper precautionary measures.”
The tournament took place in Washington, D.C., at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. That facility is used for practice by the Washington Wizards, and for games by the Washington Mystics and the Capital City Go-go.
MLB
With opening day set for March 26, Major League Baseball on Thursday suspended spring training games and delayed the start of the regular season by at least two weeks.
“MLB and the clubs have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the regular season schedule,” the league said in a statement.
“MLB will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time and will remain flexible as events warrant, with the hopes of resuming normal operations as soon as possible.”
Minor League Baseball will also delay the start of its season.
Everybody is panicking, and instead of panicking, we’re actually getting out there and working with doctors and health officials and the government.