Are sports coming back too soon?

Leagues are on alert as COVID-19 numbers surge across the U.S.

Alexander Hamilton once said that America is the “grand experiment”.

These days, that experiment seems to be in how to least effectively manage a pandemic.

A few months ago, we were asked to “flatten the curve.” Apparently the message was missed that we should keep the curve flat. The rise in COVID-19 cases in 11 hotspot states — including California — is enough to concern even the most optimistic.

It certainly has the North American professional sports leagues on high alert.

America’s five biggest professional sports leagues will all resume play this month. The NBA is going to into a “bubble” at Walt Disney World in an effort to finish their season with a champion, Major League Soccer is having a return-to-play tournament there, too (the Earthquakes are already in central Florida), Major League Baseball’s labor showdown is finally over — they’re aiming to start a 60game regular season on July 23, the NHL has long-held plans to play this month, too — though those plans don’t seem well fleshed out, and the NFL — deliberately naive to any sort of health and safety guideline — will open training camps on July 28.

While America hasn’t replicated the success of Europe in quelling the disease, those leagues are hoping they can

follow that continent’s lead when it comes to resuming operations.

There are many experts who say that these leagues are pushing too fast; that we don’t know enough about the virus and its spread too commonplace to resume sports. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested that “football may not happen this year.”

But while the experts should not be dismissed, the fact of the matter is that these leagues feel they have no choice but to play.

Yes, a vaccine might show up in a few weeks or a few months, bringing a swift end to this national nightmare and allowing sports to resume without incident. Such a scenario would make these “bubble” concepts look like half-baked, dangerous ideas.

But there’s also a real chance that effective vaccines, therapeutics, or contraceptives never materialize — that our “new normal” lasts years.

No one is rooting for that, but these billion-dollar leagues would be foolish to not properly account for such a possibility. If they all wait for the world to be corrected, the only thing that might change could be their standing in the entertainment landscape.

Adapt or die — it’s the first rule of humanity, and while the baseline reasons might not be wholesome,

these leagues are heeding that advice.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver — without stating the full truth of the matter — summed up the scenario effectively in a conference call with reporters Friday.

“We are left with no choice but to learn to live with this virus. No options are risk-free right now,” Silver said.

The best these leagues can do is try to control environments as best they can and frequently test for the disease. If these leagues don’t play, agreements that were decades in the making could be ripped up.

Yes, the word of the year might be “force majeure” — and no smart businessperson would want to renegotiate a collective bargaining agreement or television contract amid what could be an economic depression.

Yes, the show must go on — there are billions of dollars on the line for the team owners, the players, TV networks, and the nebulous sports media as well.

You can feel free to say it’s too risky. Every league has come to an agreement with its players, coaches, and referees to play, but all have provided easy outs. A handful of NBA players have decided that “the bubble” isn’t for them, and all you can do is respect that choice — it could not have been an easy one.

But for fans, I would remind them that they assume no risk in the matter, as they are not invited to the games. (And if they are foolishly invited, they do not have to

go.)

COVID-19 is an existential threat to the current titans of the business of sports, and those leagues without strong leadership, like college football, might not be able to handle this threat.

But while so much of the country, it seems, founders in their response to the pandemic, the Big Five are pushing forward — they’re not going to wait to find out their fate, they’re trying to find a way through this mess.

That can-do — no, must-do — attitude is refreshing right now.

And I think it’d be naive to think it couldn’t have a positive impact in the long run.

One possible example: Baseball is aiming to use saliva COVID-19 tests this season. Imagine if they can, and then they scale those tests. That could change the way we regular folks are tested for the disease.

Or maybe the NFL or NBA break through with something that makes their games after that can trickle down to the high school and youth levels of sports — the vast majority of which are on hold.

Or perhaps having our favorite teams on TV for a few hours every day will prevent us from watching cable news.

These restarts won’t be perfect. Nothing is. But the people who run these leagues — Roger Goodell, MLS commissioner Don Garber, LeBron James — are sharp.

And so we head into another experiment. Fingers crossed this one goes better.