While the Northeast-10 Conference has suspended play for this fall semester,
professional sports leagues across the country have managed to continue or begin their respective seasons through extensive COVID-19 protocols, each unique to their situations. The NBA, WNBA, MLS, and NHL have created “bubbles,” isolation zones where players, staff, and media can safely participate in games held behind closed doors. Players and staff must stay in the bubbles until their season is over, staying in hotels apart from family. Those who exit the bubbles must first be approved and quarantined for a specified number of days upon return.
The NHL chose two hub cities, Edmonton for Western Conference teams and Toronto for Eastern Conference teams, while the NBA, WNBA, and MLS used Walt Disney World and other parts of Florida to host games. The NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) held a tournament in Utah. So far, the bubbles have been a success, with no positive coronavirus cases in the NBA and NHL. The WNBA saw a small hurdle with 13 players testing positive, and the MLS had to expel two teams for positive coronavirus results; they were also forced to delay the debuts of three expansion franchises. The MLB chose not to move forward with a bubble concept after pushback from the players, many of whom were hesitant to be away from family for the entirety of their season. This has proven to be a major error, as a number of MLB teams have been plagued by coronavirus outbreaks, forcing postponements of games for days and even weeks. This has caused ripple effects across the league; some teams have played fewer games than others, leading to a possible advantage in the final standings after win percentages are calculated. The NFL, who normally do not begin play until September, have begun practices under strict COVID-19 protocols and decided to cancel all preseason games to avoid unnecessary risks.
Currently, the NBA and NHL are in the midst of the first and second rounds of the
playoffs. The MLS, WNBA, and MLB are all in the beginnings of their seasons. The MLB is
playing a shortened 60-game season, (in comparison to the regular 162-game slate) and
expanding their playoffs to 16 teams. All leagues hope to return to their regular-season schedule within a year, through either shortened seasons this year or the next.
Throughout all this, a social justice movement has emerged following the shootings of
Black men by police in Minnesota and Wisconsin among others. Many players have spoken out against police brutality and racism, and from August 26-28, many professional sports
teams chose not to play in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot seven times in the back following an altercation with police in Kenosha, WI. These events, in conjunction with the pandemic, have led to many postponements and otherwise irregular activity in the sports world. Hopefully, as a result of these disruptions, the time we would have taken to watch sports will provide the opportunity for discussion and reflection regarding what is most important in our lives. Although these professional leagues will continue play soon, a point has been made: athletes will no longer stand by and tolerate the racial injustices in this country.
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