Want to let the season play: NBA boss Adam Silver
Foto: dpa/Gerry Broome
The supposedly saving »bubble« has become an epidemic: Florida reported almost 4049 new corona cases on Saturday alone – more than hard-hit countries like Peru and Bangladesh. The bubble of the “Sunshine State” was supposed to save US sports and the NBA basketball players their billion dollar business, now it threatens to burst in the face of ever new terror reports.
“In fact, Florida has everything it takes to become the next big epicenter,” says a new report by disease researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania: “The risk there is the worst there has ever been in our predictions . «
By Wednesday, the NBA pros must let their clubs know if they want to play under the specified conditions: quarantine from July 7th in Florida of all places, resumption of play from July 31st at Disney World in Orlando. Even if the league’s hygiene concept comprises a whopping 113 pages, not all risks have been eliminated – for example, the hotel staff is not constantly tested.
It is therefore quite possible that various NBA stars will refuse – in view of the protests against racism and police violence, many of the dark-skinned basketball players do not want to present themselves now as unwilling toys of heavily wealthy (white) team owners. The US sports broadcaster ESPN reports on a conference call between NBA commissioner Adam Silver and high-ranking team officials. Silver is determined to stick to the plans to run the season in Florida by mid-October at the latest – also against the background of the current development. Silver acknowledges the severity of the increase in infections, but has full confidence in the NBA concept.
America’s chief immunologist Anthony Fauci called the concept “very creative” and promising last week, but the doubts are growing and the NBPA player organization is alarmed: “I can not say that I am about the development in Florida in view of the State’s approach to reopening, “said NBPA chief Michele Roberts:” We will definitely follow the situation closely. “
The coming days will decide whether Florida will become the promised land or ground zero for the still stagnant billion-dollar US sport business. In addition to the NBA, the women’s professional league WNBA should also play at the south-western tip of the states, as should the MLS footballers.
And the MLB baseball teams, which should have started the season in March, traditionally wanted to prepare for the (re) start in Florida. “The Mets and the Yankees are planning their training camps in New York,” said Andrew Cuomo, governor of the state of New York, on Saturday. That actually says it all: The Big Apple, recently the corona epidemic par excellence, is now considered a safe alternative to Florida. SID/nd
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