Shortly after the Covid-19 virus shut everything down back in March, every interrupted professional sports league went public with plans to re-open. Some ideas were more ambitious than others, but every idea was based on uncertainties. We still don’t know where this pandemic will take us or how long it will take to get us there. The NBA recently announced plans to resume action in late July, but it now appears that someone forgot to consult with the players before finalizing the plans. With the players’ voices of discontent growing louder and more numerous by the day, it’s clear that an NBA restart won’t be easy if it happens at all.
UNRESOLVED: SAFETY VS. ECONOMICS WHEN YOU CAN’T HAVE BOTH
The sports industry is no different from the rest of the country, where the balance between re-opening the economy and public safety are debated daily. Baseball has come up with many re-opening scenarios, but the players and owners are so busy fighting over money that may not be there, the calendar just might run out on them for 2020, if not beyond. Football has the advantage of a later start, and the National Football League masterfully pulled off their televised draft proceedings, but we still don’t know what the future holds in a country where, when it came to dealing with this pandemic, all 50 states appeared to run in opposite directions. Soccer, particularly in Europe, has already made its comeback in empty arenas, and the huge playing field affords the participants some breathing room most of the time. But one positive coronavirus test among the players could change everything.
WHY BASKETBALL IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT
The NBA has its own unique set of problems. The latest plans call for 22 of the 30 teams to compete and live inside of a “bubble” in Orlando, Florida, one of several places where there has been a measurable spike in positive Covid-19 cases recently. With only hockey coming close, basketball has the most players crowded onto the smallest playing surface of any of the major sports. Teams that spread the floor on offense as well as the most apathetic defensive teams, still won’t have enough space on the court for adequate social distancing. And in basketball, unlike the other sports, everyone touches the same ball multiple times with their hands and are exposed to everyone else’s sweat. You can’t play basketball while wearing a mask. And imagine having to wait for your teammate to apply hand sanitizer before passing him the ball, then having to apply it yourself before receiving a return pass.
The NBA is also unique in that 75 percent of its players are African-American. So a healthy majority of the league’s players were already reeling from a virus that has already claimed over 100,000 lives and disproportionately affecting them and their families. Then George Floyd was killed by a police officer on May 25, sparking protests worldwide. Many NBA players spoke out about this latest killing and how it was part of a clear pattern symptomatic of larger issues. Other players waited for public statements from their team’s ownership that came only after public pressure, if at all. And since a lot of players hang out on social media, they were probably exposed to more insensitive comments than most. Amidst all the confusion, a good many of the players are probably not okay with the idea of playing again this season if there’s no chance of winning a championship. The evidence suggests the odds are slim for players on all but a handful of teams.
THERE’S A REASON WHY THE UNINVITED TEAMS DIDN’T COMPLAIN
Meanwhile, we haven’t heard a peep out of the eight teams who were not invited. In a normal setting, team number 23 would have questioned why they weren’t invited to the restart. But even with air conditioning, they’re probably relieved at not having to play meaningless basketball games indoors in Florida’s summer heat while being away from their families. We haven’t heard a huge outcry in opposition to the re-opening from the players yet, but there has already been some grumbling. All bets are off once the league’s top players become vocal. And if the NBA thinks it had a load management issue before, it hasn’t seen anything yet.
Playing non-essential basketball games unprotected in close quarters and an empty building during a pandemic while getting yelled at by your coach, being away from your family and possibly endangering them upon returning home, and feeling vulnerable about your safety on all fronts is something many of us would seriously ponder before agreeing to. Even this self-proclaimed basketball junkie acknowledges that basketball simply isn’t THAT essential.
WE DON’T KNOW ANYTHING. MAYBE WE SHOULD WAIT UNTIL WE DO.
While there’s still nothing close to a consensus on when this virus started, where it came from, how it got to the United States, how to contain it, whether it can be contracted more than once by the same individual or if and when a second wave will hit, it’s impossible to make solid plans involving calendar dates. This presents a challenge for seasonal sports. Major League Baseball, which would have 2.5 months of its 2020 regular season completed by now, has already talked about a 100-game season and is now proposing a 70-game season. There will come a point where it won’t make sense to play the season.
We’re a long way from knowing the economic impact of the sports stoppages in terms of lost revenue and job loss for the businesses that depend on them. The return of a sport to a centralized location does nothing for the arena workers or surrounding businesses in those cities with franchises. Still, with so much confusion from one state to the next, it’s better to exercise patience. Several warm-weather states, including the ones being targeted as potential locations for the resumption of professional sports leagues, are among those who have seen their number of positive cases rise in the past week.
Fans never agree on anything, so it’s not surprising that they’d bicker over this topic. Those who have downplayed the virus’ very existence have already shown a willingness to congregate around beaches and beer during a global pandemic. They will certainly question why sports can’t restart with some safety measures added in. The “millionaire athletes should just shut up and play” crowd is still around as well, but they need to sit this one out. No one should be asked to put his or her life at risk merely because someone else wants to be entertained.
THE UNLIKELY SOLUTION
If the NBA absolutely MUST complete the 2019-20 season, they should invite eight teams at most (as few as four wouldn’t bother me) for a post-season tournament to decide the champion. No play-ins, just go based on winning percentage at the time of the March play stoppage. No practice games, just beat each other up in training camp, then jump right into the real stuff. Play shorter series, then get everyone out of there and begin the offseason activities remotely. Don’t have all those players (and coaches, some in their 60s and 70s) lingering around Orlando, Florida when they have no shot at winning a title.
Is this fair to the 14-18 additional uninvited teams? No, but nothing about this pandemic has been fair, and there’d be limited pushback amongst the players, anyway. The NBA could return and decide its champion a few weeks after starting. There’s no need to stretch it out any farther, and they can start the 2020-21 season just a tad later than usual, barring any setbacks. Besides, many fans are just as eager to find out where their favorite team will place in the NBA Draft Lottery and who they’ll select in the 2020 NBA Draft. By the time the games ended in March, most of the scheduled games lacked playoff implications beyond seeding and potential homecourt advantage, which is not part of this restart.
What a mess. Not many saw this coming and no one knows where it’s going. Whatever happens, it will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and it will be uncomfortable. But with so many more pressing issues to resolve, it appears that patience is the best way to go about moving forward. Sports fans have survived strikes and lockouts before, but keeping everyone safe until we know what’s going on obliterates our desired sports viewing preferences in terms of importance. I’d prefer the NBA to move the Draft Lottery, the actual draft and free agency up to re-engage the fans. Suspend the remainder of the season and let the players decompress while we all figure out what’s what with this virus.
Surely, we don’t want to experience the last three months again.
Photo by Darshan Patel on Unsplash
