Black Wolves won't play again until fall as NLL cancels its postseason
The National Lacrosse League announced Thursday that it will not complete it 2019-20 and turn its attention to preparing for the 2020-21 season.
The league — which includes the New England Black Wolves — had canceled its regular-season on April 6 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but was holding out hope of playing its postseason.
"After an exhaustive effort weighing all of the factors, including the health and safety of our players and staff, immigration challenges, and the resources required to execute a post-season tournament under the current circumstances, our senior leadership and Board have agreed to redirect our attention to planning for next season," NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said in a release. "We want to thank all those involved, especially our players, coaches, and league and team staff, and most importantly our fans and partners, for their continued support and engagement through this global pandemic.
"Communities are starting to open up, sports are beginning to return, and we look forward to our 35th season.”
Sakiewicz said dates for the 2020 NLL Draft, as well as the 2020-21 schedule, will be announced this fall.
"We appreciate all the work that Nick and the team at the NLL have put in during these challenging times, and wholeheartedly support this decision," said Peter Schmitz, present of the Professional Lacrosse Players' Association (PLPA), in the same release. "The health and safety of our players is always paramount. The league office has kept us apprised of the efforts to try and find a reasonable solution and that the continued uncertainty of the many considerations needed to restart the season have made it virtually impossible to chart a course to a season finale.
"We regret that the players, fans and clubs won't get to enjoy what was sure to be an exciting playoff series but in light of the current state of affairs, we agree a focus on next years' season is the best use of the downtime.”
New England was 8-3 when play came to a half in March.
"Absolutely gutted for our guys, who above all, are amazing people, teammates and ambassadors," Black Wolves vice president Amber Cox said on Twitter. "I know they will come back more motivated than ever next season to try to raise a banner. Appreciate all of our amazing fans.”