The coronavirus has come and wiped out sports in a matter of moments.
All it took was Ruby Gobert to test positive for the virus, and all sports were suspended indefinitely with no sign of happiness coming back anytime soon.
The initial plan for all major sports teams was to just suspend media from the locker rooms and limit contact between fans and athletes. Then it progressed to fans being suspended from attending all games indefinitely, and have the players play their games in empty stadiums and arenas.
This was disappointing, but acceptable and reasonable. As long as fans still got to watch their games on TV everything was fine. Then along came Gobert.
“Breaking: Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has tested positive for COVID-19,” was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
All hell began to break loose and everything was getting canceled left and right. The All-Star center had no idea he was infected with the virus.
Gobert said he was feeling strong enough to play in the game he had the night he found out he was carrying the disease.
The sports world went into a frenzy with the NBA season being canceled. Following the NBA, baseball was canceled. Following baseball, hockey.
Now what was anyone supposed to watch with baseball and basketball canceled? Watch cricket? Sports media is so desperate for content they’re starting to post videos of crabs wrestling little remote controlled robots.
We all have to thank the sports gods for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for being such a money-hungry man, because he decided the NFL season is still going to go according to schedule.
As much as people hate him, he saved all sports junkies from going crazy and actually having to ask their friends and families how their day was nine times a day.
However, the biggest question everyone was faced with was: “Are we going to continue getting paid?”
There are players who are potentially missing out on millions of dollars. Some athletes like G-League NBA players, MLB Minor Leaguers, and the scout team in the NFL don’t have the luxury of making that kind of money and living comfortably regardless of when their next paycheck comes.
Some owners like Mark Cuban, and even some players like rookie superstar Zion Williamson, have come forward and said they will help and donate money to the people in their area who have lost their jobs due to this national crisis.
Some people are worried about the fact that there is a clause in the NBA stating that in case of a national emergency, the owners can possibly stop paying their athletes until the next season begins.
The clause specifically states “players lose 1/92.6 of their salary for every game missed as a result of a force majeure event — this refers to events or conditions that make it impossible for the NBA to perform its obligation under the CBA.” The CBA is the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
In light of all this news, the owners and board members of the NBA don’t think it’ll come to this with everyone optimistic that the season will start again.
Now, most athletes are well off and are doing everything in their power to help other athletes as well as stadium and arena workers. With all these players coming forward and helping, the owners didn’t want to look bad so most have decided they will continue paying their employees.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is trying to come to an agreement with the NBA Players Association to cancel the season entirely and pay the players a percentage of their contract.
However, for a lot of the players it’s not about the money, but being able to play the game.
So as all things stand, now the NFL is our only hope for sports unless we plan on watching competitive chess.