NBA Season Suspended Indefinitely

On Wednesday March 11, 2020 the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder were set to play a regular season basketball game. Not anything out of the ordinary here, just your everyday basketball. Prior to this on Monday Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz had been feeling ill. He felt strong enough to play against the Toronto Raptors that night. Everyone is aware of the corona virus outbreak worldwide, and what's going on as it has dominated news sites for a while now. It is being reported that the team physicians had gotten Rudy tested for the flu, influenza, strep throat, which all came back negative. In a precautionary action, Rudy Gobert was tested for Covid-19 and it came back positive. Rudy Gobert, a professional basketball player has the corona virus! As the Jazz and Thunder were set to tip off, the Oklahoma city lead physician comes sprinting out and huddles with the 3 referees of the game. The 3 referees then go talk to the PA announcer, and he announces the game is being postponed until the NBA lead office is ready to start the game. In all of this the mascot and halftime entertainment come out to pass the time while everyone is scrambling to keep 20,000 fans calm and entertained as still no one knows what is happening. After about 45 minutes all the fans are asked to leave and that the game is being postponed, and that they are all safe but must leave. After about half an hour later we see on all social media that Rudy Gobert has tested positive for the corona virus. Then another half hour later it is announced that the NBA has suspended its season. While all of this is going on the Utah Jazz other players and personnel are being quarantined and tested for the corona virus. 58 tests were administered, and only one came back positive being his other star teammate Donovan Mitchell. Commissioner Adam Silver made a bold move, but the right move to suspend their season. I can not fathom what has happened to sports in the last couple of days, because we have never ever seen anything like this in our lifetime.

As soon as we saw the NBA suspend its season, the rest of the leagues followed. Our country has gone through a lot of hardships, and we always have sports to help us take our minds off of things. President Trump has called for a state of emergency due to the corona virus pandemic. People are hoarding bottled water and toilet paper as everyone feels the need to isolate themselves, because no one wants to contract this respiratory flu that currently does not have a cure. That is another topic and blog to get into another time. In all of this, we have never encountered a moment like this where we do not have any professional sports to watch. I was legitimately sad because sports has been a huge part of my life since I was a child. I remember watching my first Lakers game at 6 years old. The Lakers were playing the Miami Heat, and I remember because I was so fascinated with the heat logo at half court at such a young age. As I watched and listened to one of the all time greats in Chick Hearn, I was hooked for life. We have experienced shortened seasons, but never a time like this. The safety of the players and us the fans who attend the games is very important, and I completely understand. I had just started playing on fanduel a few months ago. This made sports a little more exciting as I had the chance to win some money. The NBA has reported that the season is paused for at least 30 days, but I think it could be at least two or three months before we see any live sports. There is a lot of uncertainty with what will happen with not only sports, but basically the country as a whole. All we can do is wait and see, and spend as much time with our loved ones. We must also stay strong and continue to help out our neighbors who need it. Thank you for reading and God bless you all!