Leagues join NHL in limiting locker room access
Four major American sports leagues are taking the unprecedented step of banning all media members from locker rooms amid the outbreak of coronavirus across the globe.
The National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer
announced in a joint statement released Monday that only “players and essential employees” will be allowed into locker rooms before and after games until further notice beginning Tuesday. The release said that there will continue to be media access to players outside of the locker rooms, though it did not say how many players would be available to reporters or when.
The Sharks already took this step over the weekend, holding player availability to media outside of its locker rooms.
Sports reporters regularly go into team locker rooms before and after games to speak with players and coaches. The release specified that the measure was considered temporary.
The National Football League was not included in the announcement. NFL teams cannot begin offseason activities, which would provide the first opportunity for locker room access, until April 6. Teams with returning head coaches, like the 49ers and Raiders cannot begin until April 20.
The NBA reportedly has a conference call scheduled for Wednesday with the governors of its teams. ESPN reports the league has asked teams to prepare for the possibility of playing games in front of empty arenas to prevent the spread of the virus.
In Italy, the Serie A soccer season has been suspended after initially playing for empty stadiums. That country went into a significant shutdown Monday as its death toll in the outbreak climbed above 400, with more than 9,000 infected in the largest rash of cases outside of China.
There’s no indication that an American leagues or the U.S. government is currently considering such a measure.
As of Monday, there were 133 known patients with COVID-19 and two known deaths within California.
Meanwhile, the Tokyo Summer Olympics are slated to open July 24 in Tokyo may also be in question.
Jason Kreis, coach of the U.S. men’s soccer team in Guadalajara, Mexico, for Olympic qualifying, said federation physicians were meeting the team Monday night to review best practices to prevent the spread of the virus.
“I want to have this tournament,” Kreis said in a teleconference with reporters.
“I want to go to the Olympics this summer. I’m hopeful that all of this takes care of itself and we don’t have cancellations.”
In a letter to athletes that was shared with reporters, chief executive Sarah Hirshland said the USOPC canceled the event “out of an abundance of caution, and in an effort to limit any potential exposure to the coronavirus.”
She added, “With 136 days to the opening of the Olympic Games, and 168 to the opening of the Paralympic Games, that simply isn’t a risk worth taking.”