Corona virus has been the main talk of these last few days and it has only gotten worse. Now sports are beginning to be affected by the world-known epidemic. There were talks that sports games would be played “behind closed doors” with zero fans in attendance for the NBA and NCAA’s March Madness, however those rumors were QUICKLY shut down due to the spread of the coronavirus.

Last night, on Wednesday March 11, news was received by NBA medical staff from the Jazz, that center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for coronavirus minutes before the game between the Thunder and Jazz.

The news quickly got out to NBA officials as the medical staff reportedly “ran” towards the refs and had no choice but to cancel the game due to “unforeseen circumstances”. Fans were escorted from the arena as the PA announcer quickly informed the fans and people watching at home that the game had been cancelled. This questioned many sports fans as to what exactly was happening and were desperate for answers from the league offices.

Shortly after, NBA governors, and officials put out a statement addressing that all NBA games will be put in hiatus, or postponed. Teams such as the Cavaliers, Knicks, Raptors, Celtics and Pistons, who recently played the Jazz,were told to be self-quarantined as they were tested for coronavirus. News quickly spread via Twitter, Instagram, and other social media outlets sparking a huge uproar of fans complaining of this issue and left them with questions as to when exactly the season will resume play.

Not only was the NBA affected by this epidemic, but other professional and college sports also had statements released sharing what the future of their sport holds. College basketball had been affected heavily as the major conference tournaments including March Madness had all been cancelled prior to the NBA’s original statement.

It’s safe to say that with a league as big as the NBA, most leagues will cycle through with a “domino-effect” that will ripple towards other sports such as football, hockey, soccer, and baseball. More leagues such as the MLB, NHL, MLS, and even the NFL all put out statements informing that all sporting event dates are being put in hiatus in fear of one of the player’s getting diagnosed with COVID-19.

With March Madness, the NBA playoffs, Soccer’s League of Champions all around the corner, many fans were looking forward to the upcoming events, but now people who are fans of sports are struggling to even find a sport to watch. Each league is at risk for one of their players getting diagnosed with this disease and in order to keep things in check, quietly putting the leagues in hiatus is the safest option for these sports.