Zion Williamson says it wouldn’t be fun to play in empty arenas

As it becomes increasingly possible that teams play in front of no fans, Williamson, like many others, says it would be a weird concept.

New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson said on Tuesday that it wouldn’t be fun to play in an empty arena as the United States responds to the growing concern of the coronavirus.

The statement came just before the Golden State Warriors announced, in conjunction with the city and county of San Francisco, that the next two home games at the Chase Center will be played without fans as the virus spreads throughout the country.

The Warriors are the first team in the NBA to announce such a measure as San Francisco officials have banned large group events of 1,000 individuals or more for the next two weeks. Over 1,000 people in the U.S. are confirmed to have the coronavirus, officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization.

As the Warriors become the first NBA team to remove fans from home games, teams across the league are bracing for the same possibility. Sports leagues globally have initiated such a policy and it could soon be implemented in the NBA.

“It would definitely be weird at first but I think when you start chalking it up in the win and loss column, it won’t be so weird after all,” Williamson said on Wednesday. “At the end of the day, we’re professional basketball players, so if we gotta play in an empty arena, it wouldn’t be fun, but it would be competitive.”

In addition to removing fans, several sports leagues, including the NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS, announced that members of the media are no longer allowed inside of locker rooms and clubhouses in an effort to limit the spread of the virus. Media access has since been set up in secondary locations, keeping reporters 6-8 feet away from a coach or player.

The NBA instructed teams this week to have an agreement with an infectious disease specialist, identify a facility that can conduct testing for COVID-19, create a plan to limit the number of team and arena staff who have close contact with players and have a process to distribute hand sanitizer to players and team staff.

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