As California loosens stay-at-home orders and moves to re-open several businesses, Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed that restarting sports with fans in attendance remains a daunting challenge. “It’s difficult to imagine a stadium that’s filled until we have immunity and until we have a vaccine,” Newsom said.
Tag: Gavin Newsom
The state won’t move into the final …
The state won’t move into the final phase of Newsom’s plan, which includes the reopening of sporting events to fans, until immunity to COVID-19 has increased and a vaccine is widely available. “It’s a very tough question for these leagues to answer because they must have a safety-first, health-first mindset,” Newsom said in a press conference. “There are conditions that persist in this state and this nation that make re-opening very, very challenging.”
For sports leagues to function, they …
For sports leagues to function, they will also need access to tests and, possibly, vaccines. The NBA estimates it needs at least 15,000 test kits in order to safely resume play, but commissioner Adam Silver has stated he isn’t comfortable using a high volume of tests while they are still publicly in high demand. Newsom, a noted sports fan, has been in contact with officials from several leagues. “It’s very fluid, and it should be,” Newsom said. “They should be very, very sensitive to the needs of the community.”
UFC’s Dana White hits back hard at boxing promoter Bob Arum
UFC President Dana White used a number of expletives in his response to boxing promoter Bob Arum’s criticism of him.
Dana White responded to boxing promoter Bob Arum’s criticism of the UFC president’s plans to stage three shows this month. And he didn’t hold back.
Arum suggested that White is acting recklessly by scheduling the events before it’s safe to do so amid the coronavirus pandemic. UFC events are set for this Saturday (UFC 249), May 13 and May 16 without live audiences at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
“Good luck to them. I just hope that they’re not endangering the safety of anyone. But this kind of cowboy behavior doesn’t do anybody any good,” said Arum, who has discussed staging events with no spectators in late June at the earliest.
White responded to Arum’s comments on the UFC Unfiltered podcast.
“Listen I think by now that everybody realizes that Bob Arum is a d—head,” White said. “This guy has been talking s— about the UFC and me for 20 years. He’s f—–g bankrupt, this guy, he’s f—–g bankrupt! You don’t want to put fights on, you can’t afford to put fights on, you f—–g j—off!
“You’ve been in this thing your whole life and you’ve completely destroyed the business and the sport. Congratulations Bob Arum, you’re brilliant.”
Arum said he plans to follow the lead of major sports leagues in the United States, not White, whom he called a “cowboy.”
“We’re looking now with Nevada, which we’ll do in a sensible way, or California,” Arum told BoxingScene.com. We’re working with [Nevada’s] Bob Bennett and [California’s] Andy Foster, and we’re talking to the Texas commission. We’re only gonna do this if it’s safe for the fighters and everyone involved, and if it’s approved by the medical authorities.
“We’re not gonna be cowboys, like Dana White. I don’t wanna get politics involved, but I have really very little respect for Dana and what he’s doing.”
He went on: “I think the behavior of people in sports we should be following are Adam Silver of the NBA, Roger Goodell of the NFL, people who are proceeding cautiously and safely, not people who are acting like cowboys.
“For example, [the UFC] wanted to do this fight in California and they were prevented by the governor [Gavin Newsom] and by senator [Dianne] Feinstein going to ESPN and having Dana pull [the plug].
“It turned out one of the fighters, in fact, tested positive afterwards for coronavirus. You know, if we get something like that on one of Dana’s shows, and God forbid there’s a serious incident of spreading the disease, it doesn’t do well for anybody who’s involved with sports.”
Lyman Good was on the UFC 249 card when it was scheduled to take place in Brooklyn but he pulled out and later announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Bob Arum suggests UFC’s Dana White is behaving recklessly
Promoter Bob Arum said he’ll follow the lead of major sports leagues, not Dana White, in determining when to resume boxing.
Boxing promoter Bob Arum said his sport should follow the lead of the major sports leagues, not UFC President Dana White.
White is planning to stage three UFC events in the coming weeks – May 9 (UFC 249), May 13 and 16 – without live audiences at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. They will be the first UFC events since the coronavirus took hold.
White had originally scheduled UFC 249 for April 18 on Tribal land in central California but bowed to political pressure and postponed the event.
Arum suggested that White is still acting recklessly. The Top Rank CEO has discussed staging events with no spectators in late June at the earliest.
“Good luck to them,” Arum told BoxingScene.com. “I just hope that they’re not endangering the safety of anyone. But this kind of cowboy behavior doesn’t do anybody any good.”
He went on: “We’re looking now with Nevada, which we’ll do in a sensible way, or California. We’re working with [Nevada’s] Bob Bennett and [California’s] Andy Foster, and we’re talking to the Texas commission. We’re only gonna do this if it’s safe for the fighters and everyone involved, and if it’s approved by the medical authorities.
“We’re not gonna be cowboys, like Dana White. I don’t wanna get politics involved, but I have really very little respect for Dana and what he’s doing.”
Arum will look for cues from the NBA and NFL.
“I think the behavior of people in sports we should be following,” Arum said, “are Adam Silver of the NBA, Roger Goodell of the NFL, people who are proceeding cautiously and safely, not people who are acting like cowboys.
“For example, [the UFC] wanted to do this fight in California and they were prevented by the governor [Gavin Newsom] and by senator [Dianne] Feinstein going to ESPN and having Dana pull [the plug].
“It turned out one of the fighters, in fact, tested positive afterwards for coronavirus. You know, if we get something like that on one of Dana’s shows, and God forbid there’s a serious incident of spreading the disease, it doesn’t do well for anybody who’s involved with sports.”
Lyman Good was on the UFC 249 card when it was scheduled to take place in Brooklyn but he pulled out and later announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and …
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and the team’s legal counsel lobbied Los Angeles health officials for help in getting the practice facility open in El Segundo, Calif., a source confirmed to The Athletic (first reported by ESPN). And the Lakers are hardly alone when it comes to lobbying efforts. Sources say all four of the league’s California teams (Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, Kings) are hoping to convince Governor Gavin Newsom to include them in “Stage 2” of his reopening plan, perhaps with the help of the mayors in their respective cities. As Newsom detailed via Twitter on Tuesday, that stage would include “gradually reopening some lower-risk workplaces with adaptations.”
California governor: No live sports with fans until stay-at-home order ends
Gavin Newsom’s four-stage plan to relax restrictions due to coronavirus includes the return of live sports as one of the last steps.
California’s governor on Tuesday announced a four-stage plan to relax restrictions the state enacted to slow the coronavirus outbreak, with the return of live sports as one of the last steps.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he believes the state is “weeks, not months, away from making meaningful modifications,” but added additional progress must be made to move to Stage 2, when some “lower risk” workplaces can be reopened.
Conducting sporting events with no spectators would be part of Stage 3, in which some higher-risk workplaces such as hair salons, gyms and movie theaters can open.
The final stage, with fans at sporting events, would come after the statewide stay-at-home order is lifted and “once therapeutics have been developed.”
Most important, Newsom said the plan does not have a definite timetable. The ability to move from one stage to the next, he said, will depend on improving the capacity to test people for coronavirus and to perform contact tracing to track its potential spread.
“I know we’re all ready for life to go back to normal,” Newsom added on Twitter. “But it’s unbelievably important we re-open our economy in a scientific, thoughtful way – guided by public health.”
There are five professional golf events set for California over the next five months.
The PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship is currently scheduled for July 30-Aug. 2 near Lake Tahoe. The PGA Championship is set for the following week, Aug. 6-9, at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. PGA of America SEO Seth Waugh had previously said that the goal is to hold the event with fans but that Plan B would be to keep it at Harding Park but without fans.
The Tour’s 2020-21 schedule starts in Napa with the Safeway Open, Sept. 10-13.
Meanwhile, the LPGA moved its first major, the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, to that same September weekend.
In addition, the PGA Tour Champions event, the PURE Insurance Championship, is scheduled for Pebble Beach Golf Links, Sept. 18-20.
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The Kings issued a statement Monday …
The Kings issued a statement Monday reasserting their Golden 1 Center facilities will remain closed in accordance with public health orders because of the coronavirus. The team suspended all basketball activities March 17 under recommendations from Sacramento County health officials, two days before Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an ongoing statewide stay-at-home order.
“Health and safety is our top …
“Health and safety is our top priority,” the team said. “In accordance with the Sacramento County and California Department of Public Health stay-at-home orders that are currently in place, the team’s practice facility remains closed until further notice. We will continue to follow governmental directives from local and state health officials, and guidelines set forth by the league, to maintain the health and wellbeing of our team and community.”
The Warriors — who haven’t played a …
The Warriors — who haven’t played a game since March 10 — will continue to adhere to the guidelines set by San Francisco Mayor London Breed and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Breed was among the first city leaders to enact social-distancing measures, banning all non-essential travel on March 16, despite San Francisco not having any known coronavirus cases at the time. Three days later, Newsom followed suit, enacting social-distance laws statewide. On Friday, Breed said she’d “very likely” extend the measure in San Francisco past the current May 3 date.