The coronavirus has obviously taken the world by storm, creating a huge concern for all sports around the world. Events are being delayed or cancelled due to the outbreak of this horrible disease. Organizers are evaluating tournaments for safety concerns from the people, and committees are begging the congress to make the right decision on this call. 

Rudy Gobert has been named the Defensive Player of the Year twice in his career. But he has something that makes him even more notable in our world today: it’s called the coronavirus. But he isn’t the only person who has it in the National Basketball Association. Donovan “Spida” Mitchell has also recently tested positive for the coronavirus, shutting down the league “until further notice.” This isn’t the only tragedy that hit this year. 2020 has been the year that no one wants to remember as of now.

To start things off, Gobert was making fun of the coronavirus in an interview when he touched all the microphones. Gobert had recently sat out of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to sickness. Right before the game, he tested positive for corona, which resulted in the game being postponed. He is quarantined in Oklahoma for the next couple weeks, until he is confirmed to be healthy. Utah Jazz players were all tested for corona, and Mitchell’s are the only results that were returned. The team is still awaiting results from the lab for the rest of the players, as of press time. The players were forced to stay in the arena for a full 48 hours until the results came back. As of Mar. 12, seven players are being held for safety measures because they are showing symptoms, too. 

Due to these two players attaining the virus, the NBA commissioner and all the owners have made the decision to postpone the season. Gobert and Mitchell are the only two confirmed cases in the NBA at this point, but there is a possibility that there are more cases. The only game that continued through the chaos last night was the Mavericks vs. Nuggets. Fans and coaches found out about the NBA news during the middle of the game. 

Major League Baseball has also been suspended indefinitely due to COVID-19. The MLB released this statement on Mar. 12, 2020, stating that the players brought up concerns and had no intentions of playing. 

Major League Soccer also confirmed on Mar. 12 that it was suspending all games for 30 days. That means Timbers fans in Portland will have to get their soccer fix elsewhere, but good luck, as all youth club games are also cancelled across the state through the end of March.

Another huge problem is the fact that the NCAA committee cancelled March Madness. The NCAA had originally made the decision to let the players play without the crowds there, but recently, they changed the decision to not let them play, due to the traveling concerns that the teams would have to face. The tournament has been officially cancelled for the rest of the year. The dream for Oregon has been shut down this year, especially because of the superteam they were forming. 

High school basketball has also been cancelled at the Chiles Center. OSAA released a statement along with the schools saying that the students will not play basketball with the coronavirus present. The Oregon State Basketball tournament has been officially cancelled, which means the 2019-2020 season champion isn’t going to exist this year. The coronavirus has ruined this year of basketball and all other sports.

Coronavirus is a very serious matter and we don’t seem to realize that. The jokes need to stop because Tualatin High School could be next with the next confirmed case.