It’s safe to say that the coronavirus has sent the word into mass panic. After all, it’s been a while since the CDC has issued a pandemic among the American population. Not only has the virus affected everyday life and all of the things we do on a daily basis, but it has also left a huge impact on the sports world. Nearly every pro sport imaginable has shut its door whether that be canceling the season, or suspending it until further notice. Even a couple of players in the NBA have contracted the disease and have put the virus on a higher platform. So, what does this mean for the future of the sports world?

The coronavirus has quickly developed into a fast-spreading, not too take lightly pandemic. The virus developed in China and ever since then has hit multiple countries with force, including the U.S. The virus has left a detrimental mark upon the sports world and left many fans with a feeling of emptiness. It all started with the NCAA, in which they began to announce that conference tournaments would be held without fans. This announcement is when many people started to realize just how serious the virus really was. But in a shocking fashion, just a few days later, the Big 10, SEC, and many other collegiate basketball conferences alike began to completely cancel their respective conference tournaments. The NCAA also dropped the famous and renowned, NCAA tournament, due to the virus and trying to prevent the spread of it.

The next event that took place kickstarted the trend of major cancellations. On March 11, NBA player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. It was announced that Gobert had not felt symptoms. In a tweet from NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, he stated that Gobert had been careless in the locker room and had been acting normal for nearly a week. After this was announced, NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, issued a statement that the NBA would be suspending the season until further notice and putting a hiatus into place. This was the hammer that started it all. Just a few days later, it was reported by ESPN that the teammate of Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, had also tested positive for the virus, as well as Pistons forward, Christian Wood.

So, what sports have canceled and suspended? The NCAA has completely canceled the NCAA tournament, the NBA suspended its season, the MLS has been suspended as well, the NHL did the same, the MB has delayed the start of the season, and nearly every Europe sport has been completely canceled due to how many cases there are in that area. Now, the summer Olympics in Tokyo is now in jeopardy of being postponed or completely canceled. 

So what does this mean in terms of the future? Well, unfortunately, people will have to let the virus do it’s course and to prevent the spread of it as much as we can. Nobody truly knows how long the virus is going to be around, or how lethal it could become and we must understand that safety comes before sports. It sucks that there will be no sports to pass the time, but the safety of the general public comes first no matter what. If that’s the attitude that everybody can emulate, then we could have sports back very soon and the empty void upon sports fans can be filled yet again.