Brody Hickle grew up in Bluffton, Ohio and now studies Sport Management at Bowling Green State University. The third-year undergraduate student minors in General Business. His primary sport interests are hockey and football.

Today, I heard about the coronavirus hitting in Ohio (which is my home state), so I wanted to write about how the disease has been affecting the world of sports. I have many friends who attend Ohio State University, and when I saw the news that they were suspending classes for 20 days, I was more than shocked. First, before I talk about how the disease is affecting the world of sports, I did some research on the symptoms athletes and other individuals can get from the coronavirus, and the symptoms include difficulty in breathing, fever, and coughs (CDC, 2020).

So far, we have seen several cases of the coronavirus affecting sporting events and other activities across the world. When I began writing this, Italy suspended all sporting events until April 3^rd, due to the coronavirus. In the sports world, they aren’t just focusing on athletes. They are also focusing on and taking precautions with the media. Jeff Passan (writer/reporter for ESPN) was mentioned in an article updated by another reporter, Randy Miller, stating that the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLS has restricted media access due to the spread of the coronavirus. In the article, Miller states that in Clearwater, Florida (a popular location for spring training baseball), the New York Yankees decided that for an hour early in the morning, they would allow interviews from the media, because they wanted to keep out of the clubhouses at restricted times due to the concerns of the outbreak.

In Jeff Passan’s part of the article, he said, “Major League Baseball will join the NBA and NHL in closing clubhouses to media due to fear over potential spread of coronavirus, sources tell ESPN. After a conference call with owners Monday evening, MLB remains committed to playing the remainder of the slate of spring-training games as well as opening the regular season on time, the plan, like so many, is contingent on how the coronavirus spreads,” (Miller, para. 4-5, 2020).

I think this is a smart move for the MLB because they don’t want to suspend games like there already have been. Obviously, it is important to keep the athletes, coaches, and everybody else safe. I’m sure that some people working in the media may not be as happy with this move, because they only have one hour to ask questions to the athletes or coaches, and they may not get a big selection of who they can talk to. I wonder how long this disease will continue to affect the world, because we obviously are not just seeing it in sports, but we are seeing it affect companies, schools, and many other businesses around the world.

On March 11, the NBA suspended their regular season, and the NHL did the same the next day. While the NBA was making the decision, the media announced that two Utah Jazz stars (Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell) were tested positive for the coronavirus. From what I have noticed, a lot of fans are not happy with this decision. Being a huge NHL fan, I agree with both of these moves, as I did for the MLB. Again, it is not just happening in sports. On the same day the NBA decided to suspend the regular season, many schools (including mine) moved classes to online to help students avoid the coronavirus as much as possible. Going back to the leagues suspending their seasons, I think they did it more than for keeping the athletes safe. They also want to keep the fans safe. I believe that it is a safe and smart move by the leagues. If any league has a fan tested positive from attending an event, how is that going to look good for the organization? Personally, it is a move I would have made.

References

Miller, R. (March 9, 2020). Coronavirus update: MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS restrict media access. NJ. Retrieved from: https://www.nj.com/yankees/2020/03/mlb-nba-closing-clubhouses-to-media-due-to-coronavirus-scare.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019). Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Symptoms. CDC. Retrieved by: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/symptoms.html