The new coronavirus pandemic has been just another way in which the Golden State Warriors have set the standard for the NBA to follow.
The Golden State Warriors have been the golden standard of a basketball organization over the last few seasons, and they continue to be at the forefront of decision-making. Wednesday night, the Warriors took the first step in fighting the coronavirus.
As they abided to the City of San Francisco’s ban of 1,000 people gatherings or more, the Warriors led the way in going spectator-less, as they planned to play their next game against the Brooklyn Nets with only team personnel present.
Hours later, teams were slowly following suit as games were scheduled to be spectator-less and even canceled left and right. Then things escalated even further, as the Utah Jazz played the Oklahoma City Thunder the game was abandoned and postponed for a later date.
Simultaneously, Utah Jazz player, Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Ironically, Gobert was careless in his preparation for the coronavirus panic Monday night at a press conference as he touched all of the microphones and recording devices the reporters had set out for the conference.
Some called Gobert’s actions “careless,” and now after last night’s game, Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz’s superstar shooting guard also tested positive for COVID-19. The French star has since apologized for his actions.
Then after this event, the NBA made an unexpected call; which was suspending the league altogether.
This call also comes on the same day that the NCAA decided that March Madness would also be played with spectator-less crowds. Yesterday though, many of the big conferences including SEC, Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 all canceled their conference tournaments, and now we know the NCAA Tournament will also be canceled.
Basketball star, Charles Barkley, was calling for the NCAA to go as far as shutting down March Madness, “I think my company’s got to bite the bullet, I know the kids want to play, but … think about it. These kids are sweating, breathing, leaning on each other,” Barkley said.
So, at the end of the day, Barkley got his wish and both organizations are taking the appropriate precautions.
The next few weeks are going to get pretty interesting now that events from the NBA to parades to gatherings of all types bowing down to the panic caused by COVID-19. The only question left is, what will entertainment look like in the country these next few weeks?