Sports-Enthusiasts Will Catch Summer Fever due to the Pandemic

Under normal circumstances, summer holidays are what excite sports fans the most with numerous international competitions such as the Olympics, continental or World Cup championships in soccer, and so on. However, fans are likely to catch summer fever since sports leagues and federations across the globe addressed the coronavirus outbreak by suspending seasons and canceling play. The most noticeable example is European Football Championship (EURO 2020), which was supposed to be held this summer.

 

Unfortunately, soccer is not the only sport under the overwhelming effect of the pandemic. The influence of COVID-19 on basketball has been undoubtedly substantial too. This being said, here is an in-depth look at how the basketball community is dealing with the coronavirus.
 

Despite the virus initially emerging in China, the largest number of cases have occurred in Italy, thousand miles away (at least according to the data provided). The death rate of COVID-19 rose to more than 4 percent, a figure even higher in China. Given its extraordinary spread across Italy, the coronavirus has taken the basketball community under its influence as well. Two members of VL Pesaro Basket, a club in Italy’s top-tier basketball league- have tested positive for the coronavirus.
 

The impact of the coronavirus has not been circumscribed within Italy, though. Many athletes and staff members all around Europe have also tested positive for COVID-19. A recent detection of the virus took place in Turkey’s Fenerbahce Beko members: test results of one player, one technical staff member, and two administrative workers turned out positive. Another victim of the coronavirus is Real Madrid Basketball, as a player from the club tested positive too. Following the development, Real Madrid proclaimed its first teams of football and basketball were put in quarantine given that the two squads share the facilities.

 

The coronavirus has been even more influential in the United States. At first, NCAA President Mark Emmert announced the upcoming NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be played with only central staff and limited family attendance in an effort to prevent spread of the coronavirus. Only one day after, though, the NCAA declared the decision to cancel all the basketball tournaments, including the nation’s most prestigious college competitions such as the AAC, SEC, Big-Ten, and Pac-12.
 

The NBA suspended the season indefinitely after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus on March 11th. The league has told its teams that games will be postponed for a minimum of 30 days. Shortly after Gobert testing positive, a video -showing him touching the reporters’ mics in a press conference prior to the tip off of the game between Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder- went viral on the internet. His teammates also privately say that he had been careless in the locker room touching other players and their belongings, reported Adrian Wojnarowski. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qxtxIVtOZE

Here is a list of COVID-19 victims in the NBA community so far:

- Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz)
- Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz)
- Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics)
- Christian Wood (Detroit Pistons)
- 4 Nets players (only publicized victim is Kevin Durant)
- 3 76ers, 2 Lakers, and 1 Nuggets player whose names were kept confidential.
- James Dolan (New York Knicks, owner).