Tag: COVID-19

Jets suspend travel as concerns over coronavirus grow

The Jets are among the NFL teams who pulled their scouts off the road amid the spread of the coronavirus.

Jets scouts and coaches won’t travel for the foreseeable future as the spread of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, continues to rise, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 

This comes less than a day after it was reported the Jets wouldn’t restrict their employees from traveling to draft prospects’ Pro Days. The team has yet to make a decision on amending their Top-30 prospect visit process, though, according to the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta. That would include prospects traveling to the team facilities for evaluation before the draft.

Schefter also reported that teams discussed shutting down training facilities, which would not only influence Top-30 visits but also how the league handles the beginning of the league year on March 18. However, the NFL said it is not currently planning to change the start of the league year.

Every team in the league had discussed safety measures for the coronavirus as early as Wednesday, according to Yahoo Sports. But only the Steelers, Eagles and Saints had limited travel for coaches and scouts until the Redskins, Giants and Jets suspended all travel Thursday.

There has been no word on if other offseason dates will be changed, but the league said in a statement Monday that it wasn’t planning on changing the offseason schedule – which includes April OTAs and the draft on April 23.

Things could easily change, though. Until then, lots of NFL teams will be in stasis as they get more information from the league and health officials.

Olympic qualifier for American boxers canceled due to coronavirus

The Olympics qualifiers for the Americas, the final leg for boxers hoping to make the 2020 Tokyo games, has been cancelled…

The Olympic boxing qualifier for the Americas, scheduled to take place March 26 to April 3 in Buenos Aires, has been canceled because of the coronavirus.

The government of Argentina decided to “restrict all types of international events in the country with immediate effect as a precautionary measure to COVID-19,” according to a statement by the International Olympic Committee Boxing Task Force, the organization that took over for AIBA to oversee all boxing events for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“We are searching for the appropriate solution for this unexpected situation and will immediately inform the National Olympic Committees, National Federations and other impacted parties as soon as further information is available.”

The tournament, which is open to all boxers from North, South and Central America, is the last qualifier for boxers hoping to make the summer Tokyo Olympics. It is uncertain whether the IOC will move ahead with the Olympics. The games are scheduled to start July 24.

The BTF organizes qualifiers in five regions around the world but is unlikely to complete them all. The European qualifier is still scheduled to take place in London March 13-23, but a delay or cancellation is still a possibility. The final qualifier is scheduled for May 13 in Paris.

The BTF’s announcement was made Wednesday shortly before the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. Later that same day, the NBA decided to suspend its season “until further notice” after one of its players, center Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Among many drastic steps taken by sports organizations worldwide, the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be played without fans.

 

Follow Sean Nam on Twitter @seanpasbon

Redskins cancel 30 pre-draft visits with prospects amidst COVID-19 outbreak

The Redskins have been the most proactive team in the NFL when it comes to getting out in front of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

In addition to suspending all team travel due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, for the time being, the Washington Redskins are also canceling their 30 pre-draft visits to their facility ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Ahead of the draft, each team is allowed to visit with 30 college prospects in attempts to kick the tires and learn a bit more about the potential NFL players that they may draft. Among the players that the Redskins were planning to meet with were DE Chase Young, QB Joe Burrow, and QB Tua Tagovailoa. That will not happen now, and we are unsure if it will happen in the future.

The NFL has reportedly been weighing a decision on pushing back the league year a couple of weeks in order to get out in front of the COVID-19 outbreak. If they were to do so, events like NFL Free Agency and the NFL Draft would be delayed.

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What would a two-week delay to the NFL league year look like?

The NFL has had talks about delaying the league year by two weeks amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. These are what the dates would become.

The sports world as a whole, in conjunction with the entire globe, is reeling right now as they react to the global pandemic that is the COVID-19 coronavirus.

On Wednesday afternoon, the NCAA announced that all March Madness games would be carried out without fans in the arena, and just hours later the NBA suspended their entire season minutes after it was announced that one of their players had presumptively tested positive for the coronavirus. On Thursday morning, it was reported that one of the player’s teammates had presumptively tested positive as well.

On Thursday morning, the Washington Redskins were the first NFL team to jump out in front of this, announcing that all team travel will be suspended for the near future, grounding both coaches and scouts amidst health concerns. This likely will not be the only measure taken in the NFL, though, as many owners and decision-makers are talking to decide whether they should push the entire league year back by a couple of weeks in order to reset and take the necessary precautions.

So if that were to happen, what would it look like? We’d notice the first change next week with NFL Free Agency set to get underway on Wednesday afternoon. If this new plan to get underway, that would be delayed by a couple weeks. Here are all of the dates that would likely change, should the league push back their deadlines by two weeks:

April 1 — NFL Free Agency Begins
April 12 — Annual NFL Owners Meetings
April 20 — Offseason Workouts Begin
May 7 — NFL Draft Begins
May 15 — NFL Rookie Camp Begins
May 28 — NFLPA Rookie Premiere
Early August — Training Camp
August 20 — NFL Hall of Fame Game
August 25 — Deadline to Report
September 19 — 53-man Roster Cut
September 24— Week 1 Begins

An announcement that this type of delay would be enacted has not yet happened, but it seems likely at this point. We will keep you up to date on everything we know, as soon as we know it.

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Former Georgia basketball player, now playing in Spain, tests positive for coronavirus

Trey Thompkins, a former Georgia basketball player now playing on Spain’s Real Madrid, has Coronavirus.

Sports leagues are right to take the drastic measures that we have seen put into place over the last 24 hours.

First, the NCAA announced all championship games will be held without fans, including swimming at UGA. Then, shortly after the NCAA’s announcement, the NBA suspended play indefinitely after one of its players tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Outside of the United States, soccer league’s across Europe are suspending play or not allowing fans into the stadiums to attend the game.

In most recent news from Spain, basketball player Trey Thompkins, who plays for Real Madrid, has tested positive for the virus.

Thompkins is a former Georgia Bulldog. He is from Long Island, attended high school in Atlanta and, while at Georgia, was voted First Team All-SEC in 2010.

In 2011, Thompkins was taken by the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round of the NBA Draft.

Real Madrid’s basketball club is the same one that Luka Doncic, now a superstar on the Dallas Mavericks, played for.

As a result of Thompkin’s illness, both the Real Madrid basketball and soccer squads have been put into quarantine.

From EuroHoops.net:

The whole Valdebebas area which holds the shared practice facilities for both the basketball and football divisions is now under quarantine. As for the members of the squads themselves, they must remain home for 15 days.

Thompkin’s team was set to host a match on Thursday afternoon. Euroleague Basketball, however, has suspended Turkish Airlines EuroLeague action effective immediately.

How much will the coronavirus affect the NFL?

The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has impacted the NBA and college sports. What affect could it have on the NFL, which is still in its offseason?

One of the benefits of the NFL kicking off its slate of training camps in late July is it is well out of the way of cold and flu season. The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is in the same family of viruses and one theory is it should all simmer down by the summer.

The NBA has suspended its season. Major colleges, universities, and their conferences have altered their spectator attendance and media access to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Will the NFL similarly be affected?

The next convocation upcoming on the offseason schedule is the annual league meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. Michael Colangelo from the Touchdown Wire speculates that could be the first NFL event impacted by the coronavirus.

The League Meeting will probably go off without a hitch but it may not be covered as heavily by the press as it has been in recent years. Maybe the owners decide to ban all media members. After all, said media members will be coming in from all parts of the country and put on planes with a bunch of people who are traveling.

Most NFL owners fall into demographic categories that are more susceptible to greater health problems when infected with COVID-19. The disease is statistically worse for people above 70 and that describes a bunch of owners and some coaches are close to 70 as well. They could practice social distancing in press conferences, but the owners may not want to take the chance.

The math alone suggests the owners meetings will be impacted. If only the team’s designated voter, general manager, and coach attend, that is 96 people coming from states that have already had confirmed coronavirus cases. Throw in at least two beat writers per club, and the number of attendees increases to 160, and even this number is not realistic because ownership goes as a family, coaches bring their families, and even media members will bring along friends and relatives.

The NBA showed strong leadership in suspending their season until the spread of the virus gets under control. Expect the NFL to take similar precautions in the offseason so they don’t have to make such a bold decision during the regular season.

Breaking: Redskins suspend all team travel due to COVID-19 coronavirus

Redskins decide to suspend travel due to fears surrounding the coronavirus.

The Washington Redskins have been the first team in the NFL to suspend all team travel due to health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 virus that is taking the world by storm.

It was announced on the team’s Twitter account on Thursday morning that team owner Dan Snyder was taking the precautionary measure that would halt all coaches and scouts to suspend travel until further notice.

The major new broke on Wednesday night that saw the NBA suspend their season entirely after a player for the Utah Jazz, Rudy Gobert, had tested positive for COVID-19. It was also reported on Thursday morning that fellow Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell had tested positive for the virus as well.

The Redskins are the first NFL team to take such action in the wake of the global pandemic, but they undoubtedly will not be the last. Expect more teams to follow suit quickly.

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How the coronavirus outbreak could impact the 2020 NFL Draft

The 2020 NFL Draft might have to make some big changes in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak

Every few hours, it seems the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) causes another massive decision to be made across the sports world.

From the NBA suspending its season, to the NCAA Basketball tournaments deciding not to allow fans in attendance, this global health crisis continues to have a significant impact on every facet of society, including sports.

The NFL is currently in the offseason (if there’s ever such a thing), but as the major sports leagues continue to shut down large gatherings of all kinds, what could that mean for a massive event like the 2020 NFL Draft?

It appears the league is starting to make plans (via Mark Maske of the Washington Post):

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis spoke Wednesday about the situation via conference call (per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News):

The league office, the players association and the city and the state are working together. They’re making a measured decision. Health and safety will always be No. 1.

They’ll make the correct decision. They won’t put anyone in jeopardy over it.

NFL.com’s Judy Battista notes the the league will likely face some important decisions as the draft draws near:

The NFL draft has become a destination event for football fans from all over the world, which is normally an exciting and extremely entertaining venture for the league. But with the rise of such a global health crisis, that’s exactly the kind of event that could present a significant risk to all in attendence.

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Chiefs alter pro day travel plans due to coronavirus outbreak

The team is communicating with the league and medical experts while exercising precautions according to reports.

The coronavirus outbreak has made a significant impact on the sports world. March Madness and college basketball tournaments will be played without fans. The NBA has halted its season after a player for the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19. Now things are beginning to impact the NFL as well.

The NFL has the luxury of not being in-season and having to make decisions related to games. Annual league meetings and the NFL draft are on the horizon, and decision-makers have begun discussing their options for those events. There have also been some changes that teams have made related to their pro day travel arrangements.

On Wednesday, NFL reporter Tom Pelissero learned that multiple NFL teams had altered their pre-draft travel plans, taking coaching staff off the road for pro days. Yahoo Sports’ Terez Paylor reports that the Kansas City Chiefs have now joined those NFL teams by taking their coaching staff out of the pro day circuit. According to Paylor, they’re remaining extremely cautious and deferring to the NFL and medical experts on how to proceed.

While the Chiefs’ coaching staff is completely grounded, it doesn’t appear to extend to the Chiefs’ scouting staff. Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star confirmed Paylor’s initial report, and added to it, claiming that Chiefs scouts will now drive to their pro day destinations instead of flying. The hope is that this will put them at less risk of contamination.

Keep in mind that we’ve confirmed that Chiefs scouts have been in attendance at eight pro days, so far. Many other pro days are scheduled to happen between now and the 2020 NFL draft.

Kansas City will do the best they can to ensure their staff is not exposed to the coronavirus. Obviously, this is all a very fluid situation for the NFL and other sports leagues. Expect further changes to the pre-draft process for the NFL in the future.

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Giants have yet to alter plans as the coronavirus, fear spreads

The New York Giants have yet to alter any of their offseason travel plans despite the spread of the coronavirus.

The NBA has suspended the regular season, the XFL’s Seattle Dragons will play in an empty stadium, the NCAA Tournament will be played without fans and the Texas Rodeo has been cancelled for the first time since the 1930s.

Those are just some of the ways the spread of the coronavirus have impacted the world of sports, but the New York Giants have not seemed to notice.

Without missing a beat, the Giants have kept normal operations in place and as of Wednesday afternoon, there were no immediate plans for that to change.

While many NFL teams have pulled their scouts and personnel off the road, the Giants remain full-steam ahead, attending five different college Pro Days on Wednesday with more scheduled on Thursday.

In addition to their scouts, head coach Joe Judge, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, outside linebackers coach Bret Bielema and others all remain on the road, engaged and evaluating ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft, which may be the next event to see major changes.

College teams are also beginning to alter their approach with many shutting out the media during Pro Day workouts and keeping person-to-person interaction at a minimum.

While the Giants have yet to make changes to their schedule or approach due to the worldwide pandemic, you can all but guarantee that will not remain the case for much longer.

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