While fans around the globe attempt to fill the void live sporting events and stay connected to the game they love, a portion of the population will find some relief during this unprecedented time.
Professional sports leagues worldwide have been canceled or postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. There has been no indication when sporting events can potentially resume and the NBA is reportedly preparing to return no sooner than the middle of June.
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he will extend social distancing guidelines for an additional 30 days in the United States, which limits large gatherings, among other things. Trump is hopeful the country can be on its way to recovery by June 1.
With sports at a standstill, players, coaches and staff members alike are afforded the opportunity to spend some time at home with loves ones during the hiatus. The time away from the game can be a much-needed reprieve for spouses tasked with running households during the season. The life of a spouse has often been glamorized over the years but the side some don’t see is the behind-the-scenes chores and activities they are faced with on a daily basis.
Players and coaches are often on the road for upward of nine months out of the year due to travel, games and practices during the season, leaving spouses alone for a majority of that time. Players have said in the past that they are often pre-occupied with games or practices even when they are at home.
“I think a lot of coaches are figuring out, basically, how strong and how tough their spouses are,” said Ryan Pannone, the head coach of the Erie BayHawks, the G League affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans. “They are oftentimes handling everything with the kids and the day-to-day while working also.
Now that you’re home, and you have the downtime, you’re trying to step up and step in and take some of that off of their back. You begin to wonder, ‘How do they get everything done in their day?’ We have two kids and my wife works. She was staying up all night with our newborn and waking up at 5 a.m. with our son. I recently took over waking up at 5 a.m. with my son and was thinking, ‘Oh, man. This is rough.’
Players understand the life of being an athlete can be a sacrifice to spend so much time away from their families. They also know the window of being a professional athlete is very small and they must take advantage of their time in order to financially provide for their families.
Sports can oftentimes create a diversion from real-world issues but the coronavirus outbreak has proven that live events can be detrimental to the public health, and thus have been put on hold for the time being. As a result, sports have taken a backseat to the problems at hand during these strange times.
“You’re just more concerned about the players’ health and the fans than anything,” Pannone said. “We’re playing basketball, we’re coaching basketball, it’s a reality check of how important it is for what we’re doing as opposed to first responders, nurses, doctors, people working in the hospitals, people that are on the front lines of this that are putting their lives at risk. It’s kind of a little bit of a dose of reality.”
The downtime from sports will likely serve as an enlightening experience for players and coaches to catch a glimpse of what spouses are tasked with each day. With many around the country self-isolating at home, the workload for parents, in general, will certainly only increase.
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