Reopening Commercial Sports During a Pandemic

By Liam Wirsansky on July 3, 2020

Since quarantine measures began taking place worldwide and particularly in the United States in the middle of March earlier this year, like many other industries the professional sports community has been relatively quiet in terms of its programming. Most sports have had to go on a hiatus while they regroup, reorganize, and figure out the best approach for restarting their respective seasons. Since then the sports world has released televised and virtual events, such as the iconic Michael Jordan Documentary, “The Last Dance,” which shattered viewing records, or even the 2020 NFL Draft, which held its programming in a completely virtual manner to ensure safety, also setting records for the most-watched NFL Draft in history.

Professional wrestling has been one of the standalone sports that has been able to continue its seasonal production, with precautions being taken to ensure player and audience safety, such as the removal of audience members from all sports fixtures, as well as the allowance for players uncomfortable or immunocompromised to exit the premises and abstain from participation. While it certainly hasn’t been perfect, and there still remains to be a risk involved with the possibility of contamination, companies like WWE and AEW have set an example for other brands and companies to consider when evaluating their own plans.

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In other countries in which the rates of infection of Coronavirus have begun to slow, other sports have been able to start functioning as they begin to play a reconfigured and shortened season in most cases. Soccer being the multibillion-dollar goliath and global favorite of most Europeans, has led the charge in reopening.

In Germany, their major soccer league, the Bundesliga, was one of the first major sports leagues to resume operations, and actually just completed its season on June 27th. Their somewhat successful reopening has created a sort of a blueprint for other sports to follow and improve on, as they only recorded one player having to miss a game due to the virus. Before the season resumed, all teams were asked to spend one week in a communal quarantine, and were tested for coronavirus regularly. Stadiums were restricted so that spectators could not come to watch and risk exposure to themselves or any of the individuals involved in the matches.

Although their plan of restraints may minimize the risks, practices and matches still involve large groups of people coming into close contact and the restart received heavy scrutiny from Germans, as polled showed their lack of support, with the deputy head of Germany’s main public health body vocally arguing that tests should be saved for citizens suspected of having the virus.

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Since the Bundesliga resumed, England’s Premier League, which many consider to be the soccer league with one of the highest levels of competition and is touted as the most-watched sports league in the world also resumed operations on June 17th with strict social distancing guidelines in place, and no fans allowed present in stadiums. The league has also put a heavy emphasis on the testing of their players and club staff, publishing weekly results, which have remained fewer than four positives cases, since their start. Their latest weekly update confirmed that “between Monday 22 June and Sunday 28 June, 2,250 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19. Of these, one person has tested positive.”

Other soccer leagues like La Liga in Spain have also begun to resume their seasons, but the curbing of the virus’ curve and the safety that it presents in European countries versus a country like the United States, which continues to shatter records for daily confirmed cases, remains to be a concern to many.

With impending sports television network and broadcast deals imminent and looming, many fans are left wondering what kind of conditions American athletes will be playing in, as leagues like the NBA and NFL continue to plan and prepare for a reopening of their leagues. Even the NCAA has been monitoring the situation and planning for the universities to return to playing at some capacity during the fall, as they stand to break contracts and lose large quantities of money.

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With concerns over player safety, the university programs, specifically for football, have not given up the hope of being able to play safely, as schools like Clemson have reported numerous positive cases since players have returned to campus for training. Since returning, Clemson has yielded 47 separate positive cases, and roughly 37 in the last month, accounting for nearly a third of their entire roster. Other schools with highly regarded football programs, like Louisiana State University, have also had to deal with similar outbreaks, as they’ve returned at least 30 positive cases from their players.

Around the nation, universities alike have been dealing with similar situations as they attempt to navigate and circumvent the safety of their players and athletic staff. Concerns have been levied against the colleges and NCAA whose sports programs are currently in operation in regards to the ethics behind the decision to reopen the league and potentially risk the lives of thousands of students and staff who see none of the rewards in profit, and only from the glory of playing. While concessions have been made in the form of a rule change that now allows student-athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness, the universities are not allowed or required to pay any of them directly, seemingly having a little effect on the players with little national attention and recognition and ones playing sports with little media coverage in the first place.

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In the NBA players have been at odds with the proposed plan to start a shortened end of season and adjusted playoff format, beginning July 31st. Safety has been a concern to many, resulting in the absence of players, like Thabo Sefolosha of the Houston Rockets, who have decided to opt out of the NBA restart. The NBA has assured that their comprehensive plan should ensure that player and staff safety will be treated as a premium, stating that their plan “includes stringent health and safety protocols, a single-site campus at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and the goal of taking collective action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice.”

Many do not completely believe in the NBA’s concern for their players, with Nets’ start PG Kyrie Irving even floating out the idea of starting a player’s owned league amid concerns over the players’ lack of control over decisions that involve them. The NBA has taken firmer precautions to ensure player safety than the likes of leagues like the NFL, who is committed to including live audiences as a part of their modified configuration of the 2020 NFL Season.

As coronavirus continues its global domination, specifically in the United States where rates of infection continue to rise, a growing pressure to consider the ethical treatment of athletes and their safety continues to mount.

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