Sharks’ Becher says NHL used information it had on virus
SAN JOSE » Early last month as the first scary moments of the coronavirus threat were becoming a reality, Jonathan Becher, president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, huddled with NHL officials to determine whether it made sense to keep playing.
In the end, Becher said the San Jose Sharks and the league made the best decision they could with the information they had at the time. The Sharks hosted three games at SAP Center after Santa Clara County health officials had recommended on March 5 against large gatherings to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak that has become a global pandemic.
The Sharks played at home March 5 against the Minnesota Wild, March 7 against the Ottawa Senators and March 8 against the Colorado Avalanche.
“Early March felt a lot different than (where) we are today,” Becher said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “We were
all making the best decision we could.”
Becher’s description of how the decision to play those games was made highlights the chaotic days that American professional sports officials experienced before shutting down their respective seasons in the wake of the worst public health crisis in 100 years.
The county’s March 5 recommendation also had called on people who were sick or at high risk to not attend any event that was happening. And it suggested organizers needed to take extra precautions when cleaning their sites.
While Sharks officials followed the secondary recommendations, Becher said the decision to play NHL games at SAP Center came after he called executives from other Bay Area sports teams and NHL officials consulted with their health experts.
“Most professional sports franchises, including us in the NHL, don’t have the ability to call off games by themselves,” Becher said. “That typically comes from the league that they participate in.”
The Sharks played the three games in front of thousands of fans although the Santa Clara County Public Health Department had recommended all public gatherings of more than 1,000 people be canceled or postponed.
Becher said the county recommendations had left many questions.
“The first question was, is this a mandate?” he said. “Can you play? And we said, ‘ Yes, we can, and if we play, we have to make these following recommendations.’”
Becher said the league told Sharks officials it wanted to consult its health authorities before a decision was made.
“( We) go back and forth and ultimately, we made the decision to play,” Becher said.
NHL spokesman Gary Meagher said in an email to the Bay Area News Group that league officials were in regular communication with the Sharks from March 5 to March 8.
“Ultimately, the decision to play or not to play any NHL game is a decision that is made by the League office,” the email said.
Other area sporting events also were held during the timeline. The Golden State Warriors played games at Chase Center in San Francisco on March 5, 7 and 10 whereas the San Jose Earthquakes played an MLS home game on March 7. The NBA suspended its season March 11 and the NHL and MLS stopped play on March 12.
The decision to hold sports events in early March after cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the Bay Area has been criticized by a retired UC Berkeley professor of infectious disease. Dr. John Swartzberg, a clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, said in an email last month to this news organization that it was a mistake to hold those sports events.
“I thought it was irresponsible for the Sharks to have fans at those games,” Swartzberg wrote.
Swartzberg had previously criticized Bay Area teams for playing games: “There’s no better way to infect more people rapidly than to take human beings and put them in a confined space for a prolonged period of time. And that’s exactly what gatherings do,” he told the Guardian in a story published March 13.
By March 5, Santa Clara County had 20 confirmed cases of COVID-19. As of Wednesday morning, the county had reported almost 900 confirmed cases and 30 deaths.
The Sharks have not played since March 11 when they were in Chicago. SAP Center has not held an event since the March 8 game against the Avalanche. Santa Clara County banned mass gatherings on March 9.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incubation period of COVID-19 and other coronaviruses ranges from two to 14 days.
Becher said to his knowledge, no one in the Sharks organization has tested positive for coronavirus.