The Globe and Mail - 09.03.2020

B14 O THEGLOBEANDMAIL| MONDAY,MARCH9,2020

A

s U.S. sports leagues weigh
whether to bar fans from
ballparks and stadiums to
help stall the coronavirus out-
break, San Francisco Giants
pitcher Jeff Samardzija is one of
the few players who can tell them
exactly what that feels like.
“It’s not very fun,” he said.
Samardzija pitched for the
Chicago White Sox in a 2015 game
played without fans in Baltimore
as a result of civil unrest in the
city. It was a bizarre scene at
Camden Yards – a sun-drenched
stadium, empty except for the
teams – but something that has
already become common inter-
nationally and could happen in
the United States if there’s no
slowdown to the spread of the
COVID-19 strain that has infected
more than 100,000 people world-
wide.
The global virus outbreak has
caused concern about cramming
tens of thousands of fans in for
games that technically can go on
without them.
Sports leagues in Europe, Asia
and the Middle East have already

locked supporters out of venues,

and the NBA sent a memo to its

franchises Friday warning them

to prepare for the possibility that

it may have to play host to games

without fans.

While U.S. sports leagues have

been in regular contact with each

other regarding the outbreak,

Major League Baseball and the

NationalHockeyLeaguehavenot

yet issued similar notices.

Baseball commissioner Rob

Manfred plans to discuss the cor-

onavirus with team owners in a

conferencecallMonday–thefirst

league-wide call between clubs

and the commissioner about the

outbreak. But at this stage, the

league plans to open the season

in 2^1 ⁄ 2 weeks as planned.

Fears around the outbreak

have already affected sports at-

tendance there. The Seattle

Sounders drew 33,080 fans Satur-

day night, the smallest crowd for

an MLS regular-season match in

the soccer-crazed city since the

club’s inaugural season in 2009.

“That would be an odd one to

play in an empty stadium,”

Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer

said.

Washington State officials are

already cautioning residents to

avoid large gatherings – and one

of the biggest on the schedule is

when the Mariners play host to

the Texas Rangers for opening

day March 26.

Seattle,likeallotherbigleague

clubs, has been monitoring the

situation in conjunction with

MLB and has taken precautions

around its spring training com-

plex in Peoria, Ariz. But Mariners

vice-president of communica-

tions Tim Hevly said that at this

stage, “we have no specific con-

cerns or precautions based on

what is happening in Washington

[State].”

“These decisions will be made

by Major League Baseball with

the Mariner people that sit in a

higher chair than I’m in,” Seattle

manager Scott Servais said. “It is

serious, it is really serious. Some-

thing that we do not look lightly

at. ... But hopefully it gets calmed

down a little bit.”

Spring training routines have

been gently adjusted – hand-

washing has gone up, autograph

meet-and-greets with fans have

been tweaked, and Servais said

the Mariners have readjusted

some dugout handshakes – but

overwhelmingly, players have

said they and their families have

been unaffected.

All of which makes it hard to

fathom that fans could be barred

at some point.

The sports calendar is loaded

with major events in the next few

months that may also be forced

to adjust, including the NCAA

basketball tournament and the

Masters.

Of course, it’s happened be-

fore. White Sox pitcher Carlos Ro-

don watched most of the locked-

down 2015 game in Baltimore

from the bullpen, and he remem-

bered it being so quiet, he could

hear every word said by Orioles

centre fielder Adam Jones.

“There was like only scouts

and us, so you could just hear

people talking in the dugout,”

Rodon said. “It was just odd be-

cause it almost echoed because

there was no one in there.”

That was believed to be the

first big league game played with-

out fans, and it was a one-off – a

scheduling necessity to get the

game in after rioting in Baltimore

promptedbythedeathofFreddie

Gray, a 25-year-old black man

who died in police custody.

THEASSOCIATEDPRESS

Athletesbracefor‘notveryfun’stretch

Comingmonthscontain

majorsportseventsthat

maybecalledoffover

COVID-19concerns

Amanusesahand-

sanitizingstationbefore

aSeattleSounders-

ChicagoFirematchin

SeattleonMarch1.

TheSoundersdrew

slightlymorethan33,000

peopletotheirgameon

Saturday,thesmallest

crowdforanMLS

regular-seasongamein

soccer-crazedSeattle

sincetheclub’sinaugural

seasonin2009.

TEDS.WARREN/AP

JAKESEINERSCOTTSDALE,ARIZ.

James is the alpha of North
American sport. What he says
carries enormous weight across
all leagues. Since most athletes
aren’t exactly bold, independent
thinkers, James’s pronounce-
ments are often functional dik-
tats about how pros should com-
port themselves.
He’s often used this power for
good, but he’s got this one wrong.
Because this is rapidly moving
from what we’d all prefer to hap-
pen (a blissful state in which
most Westerners have spent their
entire lives) to what’s going to
happen whether we like it or not.
Everyone’s going to have to do
their little bit for the collective
good. That includes the LeBron
Jameses of the world. Their job is
to provide audio-visual evidence
that our society is just winding
down for a few weeks or months,
and not in the midst of collapse.
A lot of things may get put on
hold in the next little while.
Sports cannot be one of them.
Not unless things take a really
bad turn.
Of course, reasonable mea-
sures are, well, reasonable. Dur-
ing the weekend, you could see
various leagues taking small
steps in this direction.
The NHL suggested to teams
they think about shutting their
locker rooms to the media. No
one’s instructed them to do so.
Not yet. Just asked them to con-
sider it. (That consideration will
involve team executives gather-
ing in a hallway to do a co-ordi-
nated fist pump while yelling,
“Finally!”)
Does this protect anyone in
any real way? Probably not. The
players will still do pressers.
They’ll still have to walk among
the filthy horde of us to get any-
where. The media will still be in
thebuilding,breathing onpeople
and fondling the doorknobs.

But it gets everyone else used

to what’s coming – that the

things we used to do in groups,

we will have to start doing alone.

Aside from the virus itself, this

is the most dreadful prospect

about what lies ahead. That we

are moving from a communal

way of living – travelling togeth-

er, sitting together while we

work, spending our free time to-

gether – to a solitary one.

While in the midst of an apoc-

alypse grocery shop the other

day, this idea sort of appealed to

me. I could do with a few weeks

of monkish isolation in which to

gather my thoughts. Hit that pile

of books at the bedside. Watch all

five seasons ofThe Wireagain.

Learn how to knit.

But monks get to choose how

and when they are sequestered

and – this part is important –

when it ends.

As some variation of quaran-

tine grows closer to an enforced

reality, it seems a lot less roman-

tic.Noonewantstobetoldwhere

they can and can’t go, and whom

they can and can’t be with. It

sounds awfully lonely.

This is where sports can help.

Sports are normalcy. They

happen on all seven days of the

week at roughly the same time.

For a large segment of society,

they are our longest running

soap opera. You know all the

characters. You pull for the ones

who represent your city or com-

munity.

Even if you are physically

alone while you’re watching

sports, it doesn’t feel that way.

Because you know millions of

other people are watching them

at the same time, thinking the

same things you are thinking.

These are often bilious thoughts

• “Trade this dummy” or “Cut
  this bozo” or “Trade this dummy
  so some other bozo can cut him”


• but that’s the point of watching
  sports. It is modern society’s re-
  lease valve. It harmlessly bleeds
  off excess steam.
  The idea of games played in
  empty stadiums is eerie, but it
  won’t change that core relation-
  ship between people, their TVs
  and their teams. This is one of the
  few things we can all do together,
  even when we are not.
  Although the pros may not
  think about it this way, that’s the
  reason they are paid so much
  money. It isn’t to put balls in nets.
  It is to provide a monolithic spec-
  tacle that plays a crucial role in
  social cohesion. They are glue
  thathelpsbindourcommunities.
  That can’t stop because it no
  longer feels like fun for the peo-
  ple who do it. If that’s the only
  objection, that’s not nearly good
  enough.
  The athlete’s job in whatever
  lies ahead is to remind people
  that life goes on. That we will
  come out the other side of this –
  whatever “this” turns out to be.
  Their role is supplying nightly
  reassurance that something that
  looks like regular life is contin-
  uing, even if life gets irregular.
  Sports has got a lot from us
  over the years, probably more
  than its fair share. In unusual
  times such as these, sports owes
  it to all of us to pay a little back.

Kelly:Proplayersarepaidtoprovideamonolithicspectaclethatbindsustogether

FROMB10

L.A.LakerLeBronJames,

seeninagameagainst

MilwaukeeBuckson

FridayinLosAngeles,

saidthatifheshowsup

‘toanarenaandthere

ain’tnofansinthere,

Iain’tplaying.’

HARRYHOW/GETTYIMAGES

NHL teams are beginning to close their
dressing rooms to media as a means to
prevent the spread of the novel corona-
virus.
Commissioner Gary Bettman on Sat-
urday said the league would not impose
such a restriction, but would leave the
decision up to each of the 31 teams.
If access to the dressing room is shut
down,interviewswithcoachesandplay-
ers will be conducted in a more formal
setting. At Scotiabank Arena, Maple
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe addresses
media in a room adjacent to the locker
room after games.
Earlier on Saturday, the New York Is-
landers closed off their dressing room to
reporters after a game at Nassau Veter-
ans Memorial Coliseum against the Car-
olina Hurricanes.
“We will, starting [today], pro-act to
what we’re all going through to try and
prevent as much potential associations
with anybody who somehow contracted
something,” Islanders president and

general manager Lou Lamoriello said.

“We cannot control the amount of press

that go in the room who have creden-

tials,whocomefromeverywhere.It’dbe

different if we knew the people.

“What the league has done is given us

many materials as far as what to do to

prevent. What we have to do in our lock-

er room, what we have to do around ev-

erything we do.”

The Rangers said before Saturday

night’s game against the Devils at Madi-

son Square Garden that their dressing

rooms would also be closed to the

media.

A state of emergency was declared in

New York on Saturday after the number

of cases of coronavirus rose from 44 to

76 overnight. The flu-like illness has

killed more than 3,300 people world-

wide and there have been more than

100,000 cases across the globe.

Because of it, the NHL has banned in-

ternational travel for league-office em-

ployees and told teams to prepare con-

tingency plans in case the outbreak gets

worse. Players have been advised to

minimize contact with fans.

NHLteamsclosedressingrooms

tomediaamidcoronavirusoutbreak

MARTYKLINKENBERGTORONTO

The women’s world hockey champion-

ship has been wiped out by disease for a

second time, with host Canada the loser

of this year’s tournament.

The International Ice Hockey Federa-

tion cancelled the 10-country tourna-

ment scheduled for March 31 to April 10

in Halifax and Truro, N.S., because of

concernsoverthespreadofthenewcor-

onavirus.

“We’re all pretty devastated. We’ve

been so excited to have this opportunity

to play on home soil in front of the

crowdinHalifaxthatweknewwasgoing

tobesoengagingandsoloud,”saidCan-

adian defenceman Renata Fast, who

pointed out that the cancellation comes

after the Canadian Women’s Hockey

League folded and the Professional

Women’s Hockey Player Association

walked out on the National Women’s

Hockey League, essentially suspending

professional women’s hockey in North

America.

“This year’s been tough with no

leagues, and that doesn’t help the situa-

tion. It was probably the biggest mo-

mentweweregoingtohaveforwomen’s

hockey this year. We’re all pretty devas-

tated,” Fast said. “We understand that

health and safety comes first, but it is

toughtoknowthateverythingwe’veput

into this year to grow as a team and the

decisions that were made to move for-

ward with the team.”

The 2003 women’s championship in

Beijing was called off because of the Se-

vere acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

outbreak in China.

The IIHF has assured Canada that the

2021 women’s championship will be

held in Nova Scotia, even though Russia

was scheduled play host next year,

Hockey Canada president Scott Smith

said in a conference call. The Public

Health Agency of Canada has assessed

the public health risk associated with

novel coronavirus, which is also known

as COVID-19, as low. That risk is contin-

ually reassessed as new information be-

comes available.

THECANADIANPRESS

Viruscausescancellationofwomen’s

worldhockeychampionship

DONNASPENCER

CORONAVIRUS