Sports leagues have generally been following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control, and as long as that continues, there won’t be sports in the U.S. for quite some time.
The CDC released new guidance Sunday night recommending that all in-person events consisting of more than 50 people be canceled or postponed for the next eight weeks. The earliest that guidance would end would be the week of May 9.
That suggests that sports will be on hold until at least the start of May. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the NBA’s most optimistic scenarios don’t have the league resuming play until June.
CDC recommendation of no events of 50-plus people for next two months comes as a number of NBA owners and executives increasingly believe a best case scenario is a mid-to-late June return to play — with no fans. League's scouting for possible arena dates all the way thru August.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 15, 2020
The NFL would be impacted by this as well. Aside from the NFL Draft, OTAs and rookie minicamps would almost certainly be impacted.
Boxing matches would also be postponed.
CDC recommendation takes all major boxing events—including Canelo’s planned May 2nd date—out of play. Promoters have to decide: Find small, television friends venues or hope to reschedule and recoup the live gate.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) March 15, 2020
The NHL would be unable to resume under this order with or without fans, and MLB’s season would not start either. That is along the lines of what MLB is expecting.
Authorities have warned that the worst is yet to come. With that in mind, sports will likely be an afterthought for weeks and perhaps months to come.
