Today, Adam Schefter (ESPN) reported that President Donald Trump was on a conference call with commissioners and top executives of major United States professional sports. The call included NFL commissioner Roger Goddell, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and others representing leagues such as the PGA Tour, NHL, WNBA, etc.
On the call, Trump said that he hopes that fans will be able to attend events again by August or September. He also said that he believes that the NFL will be ready to start on time with no restrictions.
While it wasn’t unexpected, this is a massive blow for major sports. The news pushes the start of the MLB and WNBA seasons way back, halts all PGA and LPGA Tour events for a long time, as well as racing events. For the NBA and the NHL, this makes it less likely that the season will be finished.
It will probably be safe enough for teams to start playing each other before then, but it may only be a few weeks before. If it is as late as July or August, I have a hard time seeing the NHL and NBA return. All the rest of the leagues, with exception to the NFL, will have to play significantly shortened schedules.
This is still a rapidly changing and fluid situation. Each league has new ideas on how to get play going sooner, but all end up being put aside in the end. We may not know more about the resumption of leagues until the amount of COVID-19 cases peak, and we start to see a downward trend.
But for now, continue to social distance and wash your hands. Do your part and hope others do theirs. That way, we can get back to a normal way of life soon.
Stay safe, ESM nation!