Coronavirus has come for major league sports and it's come with a vengeance. Every major sport currently in season (and preseason) has suspended all activities for varying lengths of time.
The NBA season has been suspended for a minimum of two weeks after two Utah Jazz players have tested positive for the virus. After the two-week hiatus, the NBA will reevaluate and announce their path forward.
The NHL has proactively suspended the season for a yet-to-be-determined length of time. No NHL player has tested positive for the virus as of this writing, but many NHL teams share arena's (and locker rooms) with NBA teams and see the writing on the wall when it comes to large gatherings in many major cities.
Major League Baseball is all-but-certain to follow suit, but has not made any announcement. However, multiple news reports have leaked that an announcement is expected by the end of today (3/12).
And Major League Soccer has suspended their season for a minimum of 30 days with the option to extend it as needed.
Needless to say, major sports teams are taking this virus very seriously. Sports bring us together as a community, but they are a double edged sword during a viral outbreak that has no known vaccine. Arena's, especially indoor ones, are giant petri dishes and can spread an illness in a matter of minutes or hours.
I applaud the major sports for being so proactive and only hope that these drastic measures help slow the spread of the virus. It will be painful for not just the players and fans, but also the vendors who make a living off of these sports, the servers and bartenders at the restaurants and bars that host watching parties, and on and on down the line.
It's a scary time, but we're a resilient people and will be filling the stadiums again whenever this all subsides.