SATURDAy, MARCH 14 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST eZ sU D5
the coronavirus outbreak
serious consideration for seniors
to have an additional year of
eligibility.”
Some men’s basketball confer-
ence tournaments were canceled
after they had already begun — at
halftime of one game in the Big
East tournament and with play-
ers warming up on the court in
the Big Te n tournament. But even
as players and coaches mourned
the end of their seasons, many
expressed that this was the cor-
rect decision. Leagues through-
out the country and the world
continued to make similar deci-
sions not to hold events that gar-
ner large crowds and that could
put athletes and staffs at r isk even
without spectators present.
LSU gymnastics, the nation’s
sixth-ranked team, appeared to
have a senior recognition ceremo-
ny i n its practice facility. In recent
days, many of those winter sport
programs have celebrated their
seniors on social media, in many
ways saying farewell, even as
their future options remain
murky.
[email protected]Ava Wallace contributed to this
report.graduate transfers within these
sports because more athletes will
have their degree with eligibility
remaining.
Bamford said his focus was on
granting an additional year of
eligibility to the spring sport ath-
letes who “didn’t even have a
chance to really fully compete.”
The winter sport athletes, while
their seasons ended in a disap-
pointing way, had the chance to
nearly reach the finish.
The NCAA had yet to provide a
statement regarding winter sport
athletes.
“I think it would be tough for
basketball,” said maryland wom-
en’s basketball coach Brenda
frese, who last week led the Te rra-
pins to the Big Te n tournament
title. “You’ve played the majority
of your season, so I think that
would probably be tough.... Al-
though I would take it. I’d take all
four seniors to come back, no
question.”
Baylor women’s basketball
coach Kim mulkey said friday in
a statement: “It is still my hope
that if the current situation im-
proves, the NCAA will make every
effort to revive the championship
this year. If not, I hope they giveNCAA’s decision, that allowing
athletes to return was a “no-
brainer,” while also noting that
“it’s not as straightforward as it
might first seem.” Beyond simply
scholarship spots and roster siz-
es, there will be ramifications that
can’t be easily fixed by a rules
adjustment.“If an incoming baseball player
thought that the stud center field-
er in front of them was going to
graduate and move on and that
spot was going to be there for
them to try and compete for,”
Whitman said, “and all of a sud-
den that stud center fielder is
coming back, that changes that
internal dynamic.”
Some athletes already granted
relief might stay with their pro-
grams an extra year, while others
could graduate and move on with
their lives as planned. College
sports could see an uptick in170,000 signatures, asking for the
NCAA to give athletes an extra
season of eligibility.
“You only get four years, and if
you take 25 percent of it away,
that’s a lot to these young people,”
said Bamford, who voiced his
support on social media before
the NCAA’s decision. “A t least togive them the opportunity, if they
decide, if they have the option to
come back and complete their
eligibility either here or at what-
ever other institution they want
to, I believe strongly they should
have that opportunity.”
Heather Ta rr, the University of
Washington’s softball coach,
tweeted Thursday evening: “I’ll
be damned if [the team’s seniors]
played their last softball game
this past Sunday... This is not
the end.”
Illinois Athletic Director Josh
Whitman said friday, before theported eligibility relief, particu-
larly for spring sport seniors, and
said on ESPN that the NCAA
should pay for the additional
scholarships the school hadn’t
anticipated.
The logistical challenges of the
NCAA’s decision could persist for
years because it’s not only seniors
who will be given the eligibility
relief.
The Division I Council Coordi-
nation Committee’s statement
said the details of eligibility relief
“will be finalized at a later time.”
“A dditional issues with NCAA
rules must be addressed, and ap-
propriate governance bodies will
work through those in the coming
days and weeks,” the statement
continued.
College coaches and adminis-
trators advocated for eligibility
relief in the aftermath of the
NCAA’s mass cancellation. okla-
homa Athletic Director Joe Cas-
tiglione told reporters Thursday
evening that he supported addi-
tional eligibility for athletes af-
fected by the cancellations. Some
athletes voiced the same goal.
Iowa track and field senior Alli-
son Wahrman created an online
petition, now with more thanoutdoor track and field had yet to
begin.
The NCAA, according to re-
ports, will discuss whether to
extend the measure to winter
sport athletes, who were nearing
their postseason, if not already
there. Those athletes missed out
on participating in their marquee
events but still competed in the
bulk of their scheduled competi-
tions.
Winter sports include basket-
ball, gymnastics, ice hockey, wres-
tling and swimming and driving.
The postseasons for those sports
were scheduled for the coming
weeks and into next month.
The ramifications of friday’s
decision, as well as the possibility
of extending it to winter sports,
will be significant. Te ams have
scholarship and roster limits,
with freshmen set to enroll next
season. Even though the NCAA
easily could adjust the number of
scholarships allowed per sport,
that would raise costs for individ-
ual athletic departments to sup-
port additional athletes.
Connecticut women’s basket-
ball coach Geno Auriemma sup-
senIors from D1
NCAA gives athletes in spring sports extra year of eligibility
“I think it would be tough for basketball. You’ve
played the majority of your season.”
Brenda Frese, maryland women’s basketball coachBY JESSE DOUGHERTYWEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — major
League Baseball suspended all base-
ball activity and encouraged players
to head home, according to multiple
people with knowledge of a fast-de-
veloping situation.
The major League Baseball Play-
ers Association sent a memo, which
outlined three o ptions for players, to
the major leagues’ 30 teams friday
afternoon. The plan of action came
out of discussions between mLB and
the union and is in response to the
novel coronavirus pandemic.
The first option is for players to
remain in their respective spring
training cities and keep receiving
daily allowances for food and living.
The second is for players to go to the
home cities of their clubs. And the
third is t o travel to wherever they live
in the offseason.
Those who discussed the matter
with The Washington Post did so on
the condition of anonymity so as to
speak freely about the situation.
mLB a nnounced these measures fri-
day evening in a news release.
At around 3 p.m. Thursday, mLB
announced it had canceled the rest
of spring training and delayed the
start of the regular season for at l east
two weeks. When that timeline waspublicized — m aking April 9 the n ew
opening Day — many around base-
ball, from players to low-level em-
ployees, were not convinced. Be-
cause baseball needs spring training
to give pitchers time to build arm
strength and players a chance to
ramp up physically, the early reac-
tion was that the delay would be
much longer t han two weeks.
An immediate suspension of all
activities will b ack that claim. Teams
will not hold formal workouts, ac-
cording to people familiar with the
situation, but players who remain
near spring training cites will b e able
to use the batting cages and weight
rooms. The Washington Nationals
had planned to remain in West Palm
Beach to keep preparing for the sea-
son. As of friday evening, ahead of a
team meeting s cheduled for the next
morning, the expectation was that
many players will do just that. Their
thinking is that staying here will
reduce the risk of contracting the
coronavirus while traveling and put
them in position to jump back into
regular training once the start of the
season is determined.
“This is weird,” manager Dave
martinez said Thursday, shortly af-
ter m LB announced t he c ancellation
of remaining exhibitions. “This is
movie-esque. It really is. You see allthese movies on pandemics, and
then now all of a sudden, we’re
in one.”
Ask martinez about repeating as
World Series champions, something
no team has done s ince 2 000, and he
would offer a correction: “Compete,
not repeat. We j ust have t o repeat the
process.” Those in baseball — play-
ers, coaches, even fans — are addict-
ed to routine. Spring training starts
in early february. The season starts
in late march. most games start at
7:05 p.m., night after night, setting
minds a nd bodies to a reliable clock.
That was, of course, until this
week.
Pandemics alter everyday life, and
for t he Nationals t hat means a ltering
preparation for the season. They’re
aware that that is moot compared
with what the world is facing. max
Scherzer laughed Thursday when a
reporter asked about his morning
bullpen session. martinez has said
over and over that the most impor-
tant questions for b aseball are about
the s afety o f family, friends and f ans.
But with an uncertain schedule
and no telling when games could
begin, these creatures of habit will
have to adjust. If the delay in the
schedule lasts only the minimum
two weeks, the Nationals would open
against the Dodgers in Los Angeleson April 10. Their expectation is that
the games will be further delayed,
echoing reports from around the m a-
jors and reinforced by the d ecision to
shut down until f urther n otice.
“It’s going to be tough. I don’t
think any of us know what’s coming
or how long this is going to last,”
Nationals s tarter Patrick Corbin said
Thursday, relaying the same confu-
sion felt by his teammates. “I don’t
know. maybe we’re going to have to
play catch at h ome. I have no idea.”
The Nationals already faced a puz-
zle with their pitching staff because
much of it was used heavily during
the title run. That ended oct. 30, the
last day of the 2019 baseball calen-
dar. Scherzer, Corbin, Stephen Stras-
burg, Sean Doolittle, Daniel Hudson
and Will Harris pitched in Game 6 or
Game 7 of the World Series. Ta nner
rainey and Wander Suero had the
longest and most-taxing seasons of
their young careers.
Coming into spring training, the
club had a detailed plan to avoid
injury and a championship hang-
over. for some pitchers, such as
Doolittle, Hudson, Corbin and
Aníbal Sánchez, that meant easing
into action. for others, such as
Scherzer and S trasburg, the plan was
similar to that of past years. Harris
has been recovering from a left ab-dominal injury and was just coming
around. Sánchez, at 36, felt his arm
was in a g ood place after a solid s tart
last week.
Ye t now, with an extended lead-up
to the season, baseball faces a tricky
situation: Pitchers need time before
they can appear in real games. Be-
yond uncertainty surrounding the
coronavirus, the concern for pitch-
ers’ arms is a big reason mLB
couldn’t just pick a date for opening
Day and stick to it. mLB will have to
consult clubs, which will have to
consult their pitchers, who will have
to be confident they won’t hurt
themselves.
“I got up to three or four innings,”
Corbin said Thursday. “If this is a
long enough break, I can’t see us
coming back and going anything
over that. I think whenever the start-
ers are going to be ready, that’s kind
of when the season would start back
up.”
“A ll the players, we understand
now, completely, t he s everity of what
we’re dealing with here,” Scherzer
added. “A nd we understand why
such p reventive measures have to be
taken for the public health and to
keep that in mind to try to keep this
from really being a doomsday sce-
nario.”
[email protected]MLB encourages players to head home for now
mIcHAel reAVes/Agence FrAnce-Presse/geTTy ImAges
The pitcher’s mound gets some attention at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, the nationals’ spring training home in Florida. All remaining exhibition games were canceled Thursday.