Here's The Top Nine Sport Events Affected By Coronavirus In US

A few months into 2020 and the world is already struggling to elude the deadly consequences of a major outbreak of a plague called COVID-19, most commonly referred to as Coronavirus.

The plague, which emerged initially in Wuhan, Hubei, China, has now taken an enormous form throughout the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has already declared it a global pandemic; According to CBS News, there have been at least 116,000 confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide with 64,000 people reported to have recovered and more than 4,000 have died, as of 12th March 2020. 

Reciprocating to the emergent scenario, various sports tournaments have been either canceled or postponed all over the world. On 12th March 2020 only, The US implemented needed precautions on pre-planned games. Here are the top nine such sports events. 

NBA Suspended

National Basketball Association has suspended its season indefinitely; the league announced that they had taken this sudden decision in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.

The action was prompted after a Utah Jazz player- Rody Gobert- was tested positive for COVID-19; he was found positive shortly before the team was to play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, 11th March 2020. Also, another Jazz player- Donovan Mitchell- was tested positive for COVID-19 too. 

A view of the empty AmericanAirlines Arena before the start of an NBA basketball regular-season game between the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, 11th March 2020, in Miami (Photo: cnbc.com)

Teams that have played with the Jazz in the past ten days, such as the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and Toronto Raptors, have been told to self-quarantine themselves, according to ESPN. 

NCAA Cancels Championships

NCAA has taken the decision to cancel all of its remaining spring and winter championships which includes the March Madness basketball tournaments for both men and women. 

The suspension of NCAA men's basketball tournament will cost a huge sum of money to NCAA as it is the annual three-week event which usually generates nearly a billion dollars in revenue for the NCAA and participating universities. The event is canceled for the first time in history. 

MLB Delayed

Major League Baseball announced that its opening day (which was originally scheduled for 26th March 2020) would be delayed by at least two weeks. Also, Spring training is canceled. 

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Further, the World Baseball Classic has also been postponed indefinitely; it was due to start in April. And Minor League Baseball has also postponed the start of its season.

NHL Pauses Season

National Hockey League has opted to suspend the 2019-2020 regular season due to the coronavirus outbreak. It has advised all players and team staff members to return home and self-quarantine as it is not clear when the season may resume. 

Also, the Canadian Hockey League has suspended play in all three of its regional leagues. 

MLS Also Canceled

Major League Soccer has chosen to halt all of its games for thirty days. Seeing the dangers of the plague, it announced that the men’s and women’s national team games have been canceled through at least the end of April.

Tennis Tournaments Affected

The Association of Tennis Professionals has suspended its tour for at least six weeks. This will ultimately mean the cancellation of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 and the Barcelona tournament as well. 

A view of a regular tennis match (Photo: topendsports.com)

Further, the Women’s Tennis Association also canceled next month’s Volvo Car Open. And the International Tennis Federation said that it was suspending play through at least 20th April 2020.

PGA Restrictions

PGA Tour Commissioner- Jay Monahan had announced that The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Florida and all the other tournaments in the near future would go on as planned, but would restrict the fans to spectate the game. 

However, it is again reported that the PGA tour has canceled the Players Championship after the first round, and also all tournaments until the Masters. 

XFL Suspended

The XFL has suspended play immediately, effectively ending the 2020 season. 

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According to a statement issued by the league, all players will be paid their base pay and benefits through the regular season. And all XFL ticket holders will be issued refunds or credit towards future games. The league does plan to come back to play a full season in 2021 and beyond. 

College Football Canceled 

Many colleges have canceled their spring football games, which include Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.