SATURDAy, MARCH 21 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST eZ re C9
BY RICK MAESEHours after U.S. Olympic and
Paralympic Committee officials
said they are preparing for the
To kyo Games to go ahead as
scheduled this July, USA Swim-
ming, arguably the most influen-
tial sport national governing
body in the country, called for
the Games to be postponed until
next year because of the novel
coronavirus outbreak.
In an open letter addressed to
USOPC chief executive Sarah
Hirshland, USA Swimming CEO
Tim Hinchey wrote Friday, “The
right and responsible thing to do
is to prioritize everyone’s health
and safety and appropriately
recognize the toll this global
pandemic is taking on athletic
preparations.”
Hinchey concluded by writ-
ing, “There are no perfect an-
swers, and this will not be easy;
however, it is a solution that
provides a concrete path for-
ward and allows all athletes to
prepare for a safe and successful
Olympic Games in 2021.”
In response, the USOPC re-
leased a statement attributed to
Hirshland and board chair Su-
sanne Lyons that read, in part:
“The USOPC has complete
and total empathy for the a thlete
community as they manage the
terrible stress and anxiety
caused by the current lack of
certitude regarding the To kyo
Games. We understand that the
athletes have concerns about
training, qualification and anti-
doping controls, and that they
want transparency, communica-
tion and clarity to the full extent
possible.
“The USOPC has made it clear
that all athletes should put their
health and wellness, and the
health and wellness of the great-
er community, above all else at
this unprecedented moment. At
the same time, and as it relates
to the Games, we have also heard
from athletes that they want the
Olympic and Paralympic com-
munity to be very intentional
about the path forward — and to
ensure that we aren’t p remature-
ly taking away any athletes’
opportunity to compete in the
Olympic and Paralympic Games
until we have better clarity.”
Greg Meehan, head coach of
the U.S. women’s swimming
team and women’s coach at
Stanford, said coaches and
swimmers supported Hinchey’s
statement.
“Swimmers are routine-driv-
en, and training is very much a
part of their routine,” Meehan
said in a phone interview. “In a
lot of ways, the consistency of
our schedule is therapeutic. I
worry about the stress and anx-
iousness right now of our best
athletes with the uncertainty of
where they’re going to be from
day to day, knowing that they
would potentially have to com-
pete in an Olympics when they
haven’t been able to prepare as
maybe some others around the
world have.
“I think there’s an underlying
mental health concern here for
our best athletes and it’s put
them in a place where postpone-
ment makes sense.”
Earlier in the day, Hirshland
said on a conference call with
reporters that the USOPC has
shared some of the concerns that
have been expressed by Ameri-
can athletes about competing in
To kyo this summer, adding, “I
can assure you there’s no cir-
cumstance when the USOPC
would send our athletes into
harm’s way if we did not believe
it was safe.”
The USOPC remarks come as
athletes have started to publicly
voice their reservations about
competing this summer and
pressure has increased on the
IOC to reconsider holding the
To kyo Games on schedule. One
day earlier, a member of the
Japanese Olympic Committee
became the first executive com-
mittee board member to break
with the IOC in calling for a
postponement. Kaori Yamagu-chi, a bronze medalist in judo at
the 1988 Olympics, said Thurs-
day that the IOC is “putting
athletes at risk.”
Olympic hopefuls from sever-
al countries have expressed simi-
lar concerns about the safety o f a
Summer Olympics and have said
their training has already been
compromised. Earlier in the
week, gymnast Colin Van Wick-
len became the first athlete vy-ing for a spot on U.S. Olympic
team to publicly urge for a
postponement, posting on Twit-
ter, “We must put the pressure
on the IOC to do the right thing.”
“I don’t think it’s fair to the
athletes who have dedicated
their w hole life to trying to make
an Olympic team to have to deal
with this,” Van Wicklen told The
Washington Post in a phone
interview Thursday. “ We d eserveto be at our best, to give it our
best shot and have the best
opportunity to make an Olympic
team and have our dreams come
true.”
The IOC hasn’t wavered in its
intention to stage the To kyo
Games on schedule and has
urged athletes to continue train-
ing with the July 24 start date in
mind. But as cities around the
world have experienced height-
ened restrictions, athletes are
having an increasingly difficult
time finding the gymnasiums,
swimming pools and practice
facilities needed for training.
“There are just a lot of mixed
statements right now, and that
really messes with your head,”
Van Wicklen said. “You’re trying
to do the best for yourself being
safe and stay healthy. You want
to listen to what everybody is
telling you: Stay inside, don’t go
anywhere if you don’t need to.
But you also hear: ‘Hey, the
Olympics are still happening.
Athletes need to prepare.’ ”
The IOC held phone conversa-
tions with Olympic stakeholders
and issued a communique Tues-
day saying, “The IOC encourages
all athletes to continue to pre-
pare for the Olympic Games
To kyo 2020 as best they can.”
Inaki Gomez, a retired Olym-
pic race walker from Canada,
called the message “imprudent
& reckless.”
“Particularly in countries
where lockdown is in effect,” he
posted on Twitter. “Message
should be self-isolate or limitunnecessary contact, & we can
worry about sport once situation
has been contained.”
American long-distance run-
ner Kara Goucher, a two-time
Olympian, tweeted at the IOC on
Thursday night, urging it to
postpone. She said in a tele-
phone interview Friday that ath-
letes have been forced into an
untenable position.
“The people in charge should
be making the right decision for
them,” she said. “Right now, they
can’t find facilities to train in,
they’ve put themselves at risk by
going out and training and try-
ing to find places, drug testing
has been all but suspended in
most countries, competitions
are canceled everywhere. And
we’re expecting them to stay in
tiptop shape. To me, it’s so crazy.
And it’s putting money and prof-
its above the health of athletes.”
USOPC officials have been
hearing all week of the many
challenges American athletes
have faced in recent days, but
Hirshland said the overall feed-
back has been varied. “The envi-
ronment even in different parts
of our country is quite different,”
she said. “The reaction from
people and what they’re feeling
is quite different. And we’re
seeing that in the feedback we’re
getting from the athlete commu-
nity for certain.”
While some athletes have said
training amid the covid-19 out-
break compromises their health
and safety, Lyons stressed, “Our
No. 1 priority needs to be our
health and safety and contain-
ment of this virus, period, full
stop.
“That should not conflict in
any way with the decision some-
one is making about their train-
ing,” she added.
Van Wicklen said he started to
realize that holding an Olympics
this summer would be unfair as
he struggled to find training
space this week. He drove from
Oklahoma to Houston and back
to Oklahoma. When he was at a
gym Wednesday, Van Wicklen
said, “I was kind of looking
around the gym saying: ‘There’s
no way I can train at this level,
the level that I need to, here.
This is not going to work.’ ”
With all competitive events
canceled through at least May 10
and his training now compro-
mised, Van Wicklen estimates it
will take at least a month to get
“even close to where we were
before this all started.”
“That leaves us with a month
or even maybe less than a month
before we have to go try and
qualify for an Olympic team,” he
said. “That’s not how it should
be.”
[email protected]emily giambalvo contributed to this
report.USA Swimming wants Olympics moved to 2021
mAddIe meyer/Agence FrAnce-Presse/getty ImAges
Stars such as Simone Manuel are having trouble finding places to train because of all the closures.Letter to USOPC says
postponing for a year
is best for health, safety“To me, it’s so
crazy. And it’s
putting money and
profits above the
health of athletes.”
Kara Goucher,
U.s. long-distance runner
and two-time olympiansCOREBOARdPRO BAsKETBAllNBA
ATLANTIC WLPct GB
y-Toronto .....................................46 18 .719 —
y-Boston.......................................43 21 .672 3
Philadelphia .................................39 26 .600 71 / 2
Brooklyn .......................................30 34 .469 16
New York......................................21 45 .318 26
SOUTHEAST WLPct GB
Miami ...........................................41 24 .631 —
Orlando.........................................30 35 .462 11
Washington .................................24 40 .375 161 / 2
Charlotte ......................................23 42 .354 18
Atlanta .........................................20 47 .299 22
CENTRAL WLPct GB
y-Milwaukee ................................53 12 .815 —
Indiana .........................................39 26 .600 14
Chicago.........................................22 43 .338 31
Detroit..........................................20 46 .303 331 / 2
Cleveland......................................19 46 .292 34
SOUTHWEST WLPct GB
Houston........................................40 24 .625 —
Dallas ...........................................40 27 .597 11 / 2
Memphis ......................................32 33 .492 81 / 2
New Orleans ................................28 36 .438 12
San Antonio .................................27 36 .429 121 / 2
NORTHWEST WLPct GB
Denver ..........................................43 22 .662 —
Utah..............................................41 23 .641 11 / 2
Oklahoma City..............................40 24 .625 21 / 2
Portland .......................................29 37 .439 141 / 2
Minnesota ....................................19 45 .297 231 / 2
PACIFIC WLPct GB
y-L.A. Lakers ................................49 14 .778 —
L.A. Clippers .................................44 20 .688 51 / 2
Sacramento..................................28 36 .438 211 / 2
Phoenix ........................................26 39 .400 24
Golden State ................................15 50 .231 35
y-clinched playoff spotNBA LEADERS
Through Wednesday, March 11
SCORING GFGFTPTS AVG
Harden, HOU ...................... 61603 619 2,096 34.4
Beal, WAS .......................... 57593 385 1,741 30.5
Antetokounmpo, MIL ........ 57623 361 1,690 29.6
Young, ATL ........................ 60546 481 1,778 29.6
Lillard, POR ........................ 58531 389 1,677 28.9
Doncic, DAL ........................ 54512 369 1,549 28.7
Westbrook, HOU ............... 53568 269 1,456 27.5
Leonard, .AC ...................... 51476 311 1,370 26.9
Davis, LAL .......................... 55508 386 1,467 26.7
Booker, PHX ....................... 62544 405 1,619 26.1
James, LAL ........................ 60586 239 1,544 25.7
LaVine, CHI ........................ 60539 268 1,530 25.5
Ingram, NO ........................ 56469 283 1,358 24.3
Mitchell, UTA ..................... 63560 249 1,525 24.2
Siakam, TOR ...................... 53459 220 1,253 23.6
Tatum, BOS ....................... 59499 225 1,390 23.6
McCollum, POR .................. 62549 123 1,395 22.5
DeRozan, SA ...................... 61503 338 1,352 22.2
FIELD GOALS FG FGA PCT
Robinson, NY ................................. 253 341 .742
Gobert, UTA .................................. 353 506 .698
Allen, BKN ..................................... 267 413 .646
Capela, HOU .................................. 244 388 .629
Clarke, MEM .................................. 254 408 .623
Whiteside, POR ............................. 418 676 .618
Adams, OKC .................................. 262 443 .591
Valanciunas, MEM ........................ 385 657 .586
Simmons, PHI ............................... 361 617 .585
Collins, ATL ................................... 353 605 .583
Harrell, LAC ................................... 471 812 .580
Adebayo, MIA ............................... 408 719 .567
Wood, DET .................................... 288 508 .567
Ayton, PHX .................................... 255 465 .548
Antetokounmpo, MIL .................... 623 1,139 .547
THREE-POINTERS 3FG 3FGA PCT
Hill, MIL ........................................... 73152 .480
Curry, DAL ..................................... 136 300 .453
Redick, NO ..................................... 156 345 .452
Robinson, MIA .............................. 243 543 .448
McDermott, IND ............................ 118 265 .445
Morris, NY ..................................... 116 264 .439
Olynyk, MIA .................................... 80185 .432
Bertans, WAS ............................... 200 472 .424
Bjelica, SAC ................................... 125 295 .424
Holiday, IND .................................. 122 288 .424
Middleton, MIL .............................. 133 318 .418
Niang, UTA ...................................... 77185 .416
Korver, MIL ..................................... 86207 .415
Bogdanovic, UTA ........................... 189 457 .414
Thomas, WAS ................................. 78189 .413
Harris, BKN ................................... 152 369 .412
Towns, MIN ................................... 114 277 .412
Gallinari, OKC ................................ 165 403 .409
Hardaway, DAL ............................. 185 455 .407
Rozier, CHA ................................... 172 423 .407
FREE THROWS FT FTA PCT
Wanamaker, BOS .......................... 108 116 .931
Booker, PHX .................................. 405 442 .916
Middleton, MIL .............................. 178 196 .908
Bogdanovic, UTA ........................... 250 277 .903
Redick, NO ..................................... 147 163 .902
Paul, OKC ....................................... 225 250 .900
Burks, GS ....................................... 201 224 .897
Brogdon, IND ................................. 145 162 .895
Murray, DEN .................................. 158 177 .893
Leonard, LAC ................................. 311 350 .889
Lillard, POR ................................... 389 438 .888HOCKEyNHl
ATLANTIC GPWLOT Pts GF GA
Boston.......................... 70 44 14 12 100 227 174
Tampa Bay ................... 70 43 21 6922 45 195
Toronto ........................ 70 36 25 9812 38 227
Florida .......................... 69 35 26 8782 31 228
Montreal ...................... 71 31 31 9712 12 221
Buffalo ......................... 69 30 31 8681 95 217
Ottawa ......................... 71 25 34 12 62 191 243
Detroit.......................... 71 17 49 5391 45 267
METROPOLITAN GPWLOT Pts GF GA
Washington ................. 69 41 20 8902 40 215
Philadelphia ................. 69 41 21 7892 32 196
Pittsburgh .................... 69 40 23 6862 24 196
Carolina ........................ 68 38 25 5812 22 193
Columbus ..................... 70 33 22 15 81 180 187
N.Y. Islanders............... 68 35 23 10 80 192 193
N.Y. Rangers ................ 70 37 28 5792 34 222
New Jersey .................. 69 28 29 12 68 189 230
CENTRAL GPWLOT Pts GF GA
St. Louis ....................... 71 42 19 10 94 225 193
Colorado ....................... 70 42 20 8922 37 191
Dallas ........................... 69 37 24 8821 80 177
Winnipeg...................... 71 37 28 6802 16 203
Nashville ...................... 69 35 26 8782 15 217
Minnesota.................... 69 35 27 7772 20 220
Chicago......................... 70 32 30 8722 12 218
PACIFIC GPWLOT Pts GF GA
Vegas ........................... 71 39 24 8862 27 211
Edmonton..................... 71 37 25 9832 25 217
Calgary ......................... 70 36 27 7792 10 215
Vancouver .................... 69 36 27 6782 28 217
Arizona......................... 70 33 29 8741 95 187
Anaheim....................... 71 29 33 9671 87 226
Los Angeles.................. 70 29 35 6641 78 212
San Jose ....................... 70 29 36 5631 82 226sOCCERMls
EAST WLTPts GF GA
Atlanta United ................... 200642
Montreal............................. 101443
New York ............................ 101443
Toronto FC .......................... 101432
Columbus............................ 101421
D.C. United ......................... 110333
Chicago ............................... 011123
New England ...................... 011123
Orlando City........................ 011112
Philadelphia........................ 011135
FC Cincinnati ...................... 020035
Inter Miami CF.................... 020013
New York City FC................ 020002
WEST WLTPts GF GA
Sporting K.C. ...................... 200671
Minnesota United .............. 200683
Colorado.............................. 200642
FC Dallas............................. 101442
Los Angeles FC ................... 101443
Seattle................................ 101432
Portland .............................. 110323
Vancouver........................... 110323
Real Salt Lake .................... 002211
L.A. Galaxy ......................... 011112
San Jose ............................. 011147
Houston .............................. 011115
Nashville SC ....................... 020013PRO FOOTBAllXFl
EAST WLPct PF PA
DC............................................. 32 .600 82 89
St. Louis................................... 32 .600 97 77
New York ................................. 32 .600 79 85
Tampa Bay ............................... 14 .200 98 115
WEST WLPct PF PA
Houston ................................... 50 1.000 158 111
Dallas ....................................... 23 .400 90 102
Los Angeles ............................. 23 .400 129 122
Seattle ..................................... 14 .200 87 119BY JESSE DOUGHERTYIn a 20-minute call with re-
porters Friday, Washington Na-
tionals General Manager Mike
Rizzo provided a micro- and
macro-level look at how the team
is handling baseball’s indefinite
pause for the novel coronavirus
outbreak.
The highlight was that Rizzo
had no dire news to relay.
“We’re very fortunate here
with the Nationals that we’ve
had no players show any symp-
toms of the coronavirus to the
point where it would suggest any
testing,” Rizzo said. “We’ve had
no players tested. Players are in
constant, direct contact with our
medical teams on a daily basis.”
Two New York Yankees minor
league players tested positive for
the coronavirus. Those are pro-
fessional baseball’s only known
cases. The Nationals have split
up in the past week, as advised by
Major League Baseball, and are
running operations out of West
Palm Beach, Fla., their spring
training home, and Washington,
their regular home.
Thirteen players remain in
Florida, three are in the D.C.
area, and the rest have traveled
to where they live in the offsea-
son. Rizzo and Manager Dave
Martinez have stayed in West
Palm Beach, along with a medi-
cal staff, parts of a strength and
conditioning team, and a hand-
ful of minor leaguers who could
not safely go home during this
global pandemic. Native Venezu-
elans who were at the Nationals’
minor league camp are being put
up in a hotel by the team.
Minor leaguers were other-
wise sent home last Saturday
with no immediate promise of
their usual spring training sti-
pends. That changed Thursday,
when MLB announced, “Each
player who is under a Minor
League Uniform Player Contract
will receive a lump sum equal to
the allowances that would have
been paid through April 8 th.”
Rizzo insisted Washington was
ready to take that action without
the league’s approval, but it
didn’t come to that.
“We did want to wait to see
what Major League Baseball
would do for us to make our
move,” he said. “These minor
league players are not only of
great importance to Major
League Baseball and the Wash-ington Nationals. These are the
next star players for the Nation-
als. These are the next union
members for the MLBPA.
“I feel very, very fortunate that
we’re able to take care of these
minor league players. They are
near and dear to my heart.”
Rizzo acknowledged how hard
their situations are, recalling
when he made $850 a month
playing for the Redwood Pio-
neers, a Class A affiliate of the
California Angels, in 1984. Minor
leaguers had expected to be pro-
vided with a weekly stipend, two
meals a day and housing for the
six weeks of spring training. The
sport’s shutdown amid the coro-
navirus outbreak threw that plan
into a spiral and left the players,who are not represented by a
union, in limbo.
The Nationals were prepared
to give $315 a week to players
who are married, have at least
one child or have experience
above Class AA. The rest of the
minor leaguers would have re-
ceived $140 a week throughout
spring training. In a memo to
clubs T hursday, MLB set the base
allowance at $400 a week
through April 8, a day before the
minor league season was sup-
posed to begin.
Te ams are allowed to increase
that allowance if they wish. Be-
yond that, MLB and its 30 clubs
are working on a solution for
how minor leaguers will be com-
pensated past the first week ofApril.
“It’s something that we’re go-
ing to be aggressive with here
with the Nationals since it is so
near and dear to my heart and to
the Lerners,” Rizzo said, refer-
ring to the club’s ownership fam-
ily. “We are going to work with
MLB diligently to get that done.
Hey, there are still a lot of
unknowns, and our leadership
team is working tirelessly to
make sure our organization is
handling this situation the best
we can. It’s a very, very fluid
situation.”
To combat the uncertainty, the
Nationals have their players on
set training plans, whether they
are working out in West Palm
Beach or from home. After keep-
ing everyone healthy, the biggest
priority is that pitchers stay
healthy and sharp in the coming
weeks. They have been told to
approach this period as if it were
the offseason, and Rizzo expects
they will have time to “ramp up”
once a start date is set.
No one knows when that will
be or how long the season will
last, further complicating this
puzzle. But Rizzo is sure of one
thing, and he made sure to
mention it before the call with
reporters ended.
“We will be very prepared to
defend the world championship,
which we hold right now. Can’t
forget that. And that we are the
defending world champions and
we will go into the season, when-
ever that is, as the defending
world champions,” Rizzo said.
“We take it seriously, and we feel,
again, we like the team that we
have. We feel we are capable of
repeating as the world champs,
and we’re going to have a strate-
gy in place for player health and
player preparation to get us
ready for Opening Day.
“A nd we, from Opening Day, it
will be our goal to win another
world title for D.C.”
[email protected]Rizzo: No Nats have shown coronavirus symptoms or been tested
GM reveals team was set
to aid its minor leaguers
before MLB took actionJoHn mcdonnell/tHe WAsHIngton Post
“Players are in constant, direct contact with our medical teams on a daily basis,” Mike Rizzo said.