If you haven’t heard were in the middle of a new fancy pandemic called the corona virus. The national and local media have been reporting on the virus on a 24/7 basis giving the public quite a good scare. This week the four biggest pro sports in the United States have closed locker rooms and clubhouses to media and all non-essential staff. This comes after the leagues all consulted with infectious disease and public health experts and they decided this was the best course of action at this time. Media will still have access to the team but all media activity is suspended to designated areas outside the locker room and in the sporting venues. When conducting press conferences from now on there will be a six-foot barrier between team coaches and players and media personal.
No games have been canceled yet but outside of the United States in countries where the corona virus is more prevalent pro soccer matches were played without fans being present. When Lebron James was asked if he would play without fans present he said, “I play for the fans; that’s what it’s all about, if I show up to the arena and there ain’t no fans there, I ain’t playing.”
Along with no direct media access MLB teams have asked their players to stop signing autographs and instead have pre signed merchandise for their fans. Some players like Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers have stopped meeting with fans all together over fears of the contagion. At the end of the day the goal of these measures are to keep everyone safe, hopefully the pandemic dissipates before it gets more serious.
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