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  • Sofía Corrales

The Impact of COVID-19 on the 2020 Season for Pro-Sports

Updated: Oct 7, 2020

The COVID-19 virus has spread across borders and has not only impacted the lives of all people in the world, but has also significantly altered the way in which professional sports will function in 2020.


National Basketball Association (NBA)

On March 11, 2020, the NBA announced the suspension of the season following the news that a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19.


The NBA returned on July 30, after making changes to the way games were going to be played to ensure accurate measures were taken against the novel coronavirus.


In an effort to maintain social distancing and avoid contamination, the basketball season is being played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (better known as “the bubble”) in Disney World. No fans were present, with exceptions made for players’ families.


Players have had to adjust to playing without the energy of the fans.“It didn’t feel like a normal game,” Alex Caruso of the Lakers told The Ringer about his experience playing in the bubble. “Crunch time when the buzzer goes off, usually there’s a lot of joy and jubilation. This was a little less celebratory.”


Players and staff in the bubble are regularly tested for COVID. If they test positive, they are quarantined until they test negative in two results, taken more than 24 hours apart.


Alex Caruso (#4) plays in the NBA bubble (Slam)


Major League Baseball (MLB)


After months of discussion, the MLB finally decided that Opening Day for the season would be on July 23. Teams are only playing 60 out of the usual 162 regular season games.


MLB decided to experiment with rule changes, such as starting extra innings with a runner on second, and only having 7 inning double headers. Teams are also restricting their travel, playing only against their division rivals.


Perhaps the biggest change to MLB is the expanded playoff format, which will have 16 teams in the postseason rather than the usual 10 teams.


Players also have to wear masks in the clubhouse, with the option to wear masks on the field.


Yankees’ outfielder Clint Frazier is one of the only players who has chosen to do this.

“I'm just trying to show that it's easy to do and it's the right thing to do,” Frazier told MLB. “I want to make sure that I'm not the reason why it spreads to anybody.”

Yankees’ outfielder Clint Frazier rounding the bases after hitting a 2-run home run against the Mets (Bleacher Report)


National Football League (NFL)

The NFL season started off on September 10, and unlike MLB and NBA, they will have fans in stadiums at a reduced capacity. They will be required to wear masks.


The defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, will have their stadium at 22% capacity, according to Fox News (where one fan actually tested positive, according to the Houston Chronicle.)


However, Zachary Binney, an epidemiologist at Oxford College of Emory University, thinks that this could be a mistake. “Sports leagues like to talk about this in a binary way. It's safe, or it's not safe. The truth is that… More people equals more risk,” Binney told ESPN.


Players were also given the option of not playing this season. According to the New York Times, players who opted out due to medical conditions that make them high-risk for getting COVID could receive $350,000 this year, while players who simply decided not to play could get a $150,000 advance towards next year's salary.


Fans at the Texans-Chiefs Game (Houston Chronicle, Brett Coomer)


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