The coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, has infected a handful of people, and made a few of them very sick, and has made a lot of other people all over the country lose their freakin’ minds. Perhaps this is all justified. I have no medical background whatsoever and am certainly not a qualified expert when it comes to viral outbreaks.
What I do know is that we’ve seen Chicago State cancel two regular season games against Seattle and Utah Valley, Kansas City cancel one (also against Seattle), and we’ve now seen the Ivy League decide to cancel its entire conference tournament. There may be more events either cancelled or altered before this is over, and that could conceivably include the NCAA Tournament. Just today, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine made a recommendation that all sporting events in his state be closed to fans. This would include the MAC Tournament, which plays its quarterfinals on Thursday, as well as the First Four games in Dayton and the 1st/2nd Round games in Cleveland which are scheduled for next week.
So…where to begin….
I actually do have a passion for young people, and also feel that I have an attachment to those who play college athletics. As much as I love college basketball, and as great as the season has been, and as much as I’m looking forward to this year’s NCAA Tournament, I also do not want to have players (who really are just college students playing a game), coaches, and fans in a situation that unnecessarily jeopardizes their health and safety. I think that everyone at Hoops HD feels the same way. As much as we love our hoops, we also love it when players, coaches, and fans are safe and healthy.
But here’s my question…
Why aren’t there more experts, and by that I mean doctors, and scientists, and healthcare professionals, taking the lead on this issue??
Not just in regards to March Madness (because as much as we love it, in the grand scheme of things it really isn’t that damned important), but on the issue as a whole?? You turn on the news and you see reporters, and elected officials, and other sorts of people who I do not believe fall into the category of “medical experts” weighing in on this. Why aren’t the medical experts weighing in more than they are?? We’ve got idiots walking around wearing masks who actually think that by wearing a mask, they won’t get sick. I’d like a little bit of assurance that the people who are making important decisions aren’t as stupid as the people wearing the masks. if medical experts are the ones recommending taking actions such as calling in the national guard and setting up a containment zone around New Rochelle (20 miles from Madison Square Garden where both the Big East Tournament and East Regional are scheduled to be played), or calling for events to be closed to the public, or cancelling all face to face classes and sending students home, then we should probably listen to them. If the people making those decisions are just arbitrarily doing so after they’ve swiped a bunch of masks from a hospital to keep them from getting sick, then we really shouldn’t listen to them at all.
I do know the NCAA has a task force that consists largely of medical experts to advise them on this issue. They meet twice a day every day to assess the situation. So far, they’ve said that there is no need to cancel or alter the NCAA Tournament. That may change, but as of now, it hasn’t. If medical experts are saying that it is dangerous to proceed with the tournament, then I agree that it should at least be postponed (hopefully not cancelled altogether). But if they’re not saying that, and they haven’t so far, then I think that it’s okay to play basketball!!
This event is supposed to be fun, and exciting, and special for the players, coaches and fans. The cloud of the coronavirus, even if it isn’t dangerous, may make it difficult or impossible to provide that atmosphere. If that’s the case, then I understand delaying. But as critical as I am toward the NCAA at times, I do believe they are meticulously monitoring this, and that they will make the right decision. If they say it is safe to proceed, then they are saying so because the medical experts advised them that it was safe. If they say we shouldn’t play, then I’m confident that they are not making that decision arbitrarily, but that it was an informed decision where actual experts recommended that such an action be taken.
We at Hoops HD will continue to cover Championship Week and the NCAA Tournament the way that we always do. I’m not sure if we know how to do it any differently.