Thee Sports Enthusiast

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COVID-19 Flips Sports World

The past 24 hours have been insane. This is just a nightmare that everyone who loves or plays sports wishes that we could wake up from. Fear, shock, and disbelief have surfaced all around the world as the Coronavirus pandemic continues and these emotions have made their way into the sports world.

Long story short, this virus has effectively cancelled sports for the foreseeable future. March as we know it has been taken away in less than 72 hours. To clarify, the NCAA has cancelled it’s basketball tournaments as well as all remaining spring and winter championships. If you’ve thought about betting on teams or completing a bracket for March Madness… don’t. It’s over.

The NCAA’s decision has been the latest in a series of snowballing decisions made by athletic conferences and leagues. On Wednesday, the NBA announced its decision to suspend the rest of the season due to a Utah Jazz player testing positive for the virus. This decision caused the NHL, MLB, and other leagues to suspend play. Today’s decision by the NCAA came after 15 men’s basketball conferences cancelled their tournaments. Schools have even gone to the lengths of suspending all athletic activities and travel until further notice.

Just yesterday, the owners of NBA teams held a conference call to discuss the league’s next moves regarding the pandemic. The final decision was supposed to be announced today. The entire situation happened so quickly that it took everyone by storm last night, causing the league to make a choice. The NBA handled the situation as swiftly as they could and they’re keeping the wellbeing of their players and fans in mind. That’s what everyone should be doing. Of course, it’s disappointing for everyone to think about the fact that there’s no March Madness or NBA games, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.