As all the dominoes fall following the corona virus spread, many have been keeping an eye on when and if major sports leagues will resume . Instead of there being a definitive answer for each, understand that most are on a hold and haven’t come to a definitive decision yet. Along with that, this article will go into how each major league (NBA, NFL, and MLB) have reacted to the coronavirus pandemic and what precautions they have taken leading up to now. 

Early 2020, students at our school along with myself were under the impression that the corona virus was a problem all the way across the world in China, and that it wouldn’t actually come and affect us. That all changed when an NBA player, Rudy Gobert, contacted coronavirus, quickly forcing the NBA to shut down. This was the first situation that would affect the U.S, as suspending the country’s most popular sports league brought national attention. Knowing that there is a 2 week period before you start to even show symptoms, he could have easily infected more people during the past 14 days. While it wasn’t determined for sure that it was Gobert, several other NBA players contacted coronavirus. So, the NBA season is temporarily suspended. 

While the NBA was the only major league that was in season, others followed their lead and began to postpone their schedules. The MLB was beginning to start their slate of spring training games, which act as pre-season games before the actual season begins. Soon after they were starting up, the commissioner announced that the rest of spring training would be cancelled. The start of the regular season was also put on hold and currently does not have a new date for when it will resume. 

The NFL is in the midst of their offseason, with a few more months before their regular season was going to begin. Luckily for them, free agency was able to continue, as teams could still reach out to players and sign them to new deals. This was a huge relief to NFL and sports fans across the world who were finally able to watch something sport related occur. Along with free agency, the NFL Draft occured on April 23. The draft was going to be held in Las Vegas in front of the Bellagio Fountains, but instead it happened virtually. The NFL commissioner announced the draft from his home and the NFL prospects stayed at home waiting for a call from a team. Hopefully fans can appreciate that the Draft will still happen as the start date for the season is still uncertain. 

Another unfortunate downfall of the corona virus was the fate of the first year league called the XFL. They were a football league like the NFL, but with some different rules within the game. They formed 8 teams, filled with former college players and ex NFL players. The league was generating a lot of positive buzz and reviews but have decided to ultimately shut down the league as they couldn’t financially keep the league afloat during this pandemic. 

Sports will never be the same after this, as new precautions and schedules will be released. Never would we have ever imagined that the ever so popular March Madness tournament would be cancelled, along with the iconic Masters golf tournament. There’s no point in dwelling in the past, and instead we should look forward and cherish the day when we are watching sports again.