The NBA is in no rush to restart the 2019-2020 season, but commissioner Adam Silver fielded questions from players about the league’s plan to resume play during an hour-long league-wide call on Friday. USA TODAY’s Jeff Zillgitt has the details of the discussion, which addressed potential single-site venues where teams could gather (Orlando or Las Vegas), and the NBA’s proposed protocol for dealing with a positive COVID-19 test.
Several major sports leagues around the globe – including UFC, NASCAR and Germany’s Bundesliga – will resume sporting activities in May. One of the biggest questions facing these organizations is what will happen in the likely inevitable scenario where an athlete tests positive for coronavirus. All leagues are taking extensive precautions to keep all involved healthy, but this is a highly transmissible virus. Once an athlete in any sport tests positive, the league will undoubtedly face immense public pressure to shut down again.
According to Silver, the NBA hopes that it will be able to continue playing games even in the event a player tests positive, and plans to have the affected individual self quarantine while continuing to test all those who came in contact.
Via ESPN:
“Silver said the NBA’s hope would be that players who’d test positive for the virus wouldn’t require the shutting down of a team or season, but only the removal of a player amid constant testing of those who had come into contact with him.
Silver expressed confidence that there would be enough mass testing available in the country for the league to feel confident about using such a large number of tests. Once the NBA is ready to play in the next couple of months, Silver said, “We won’t be taking tests from needy people.”
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