SAN DIEGO — The majority of sports leagues on Thursday either postponed their seasons or canceled them altogether.
The NBA started the frenzy, postponing the rest of their season after Utah Jazz player, Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. On Thursday morning, it was confirmed a second Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell also tested positive for COVID-19. The season will be suspended until further notice. The league also said they will use the hiatus to determine their next steps in moving forward.
The PGA Tour canceled The Players Championship and all other PGA Tour events through the Valero Texas Open, it was announced Thursday evening. On Friday morning, the PGA Tour announced that the 2020 Masters tournament would be postponed. The tour did not give any update on when the tournament would happen.
Major League Soccer suspended their season for 30 days on Thursday. MLS Commissioner, Don Garber said, “Our clubs were united today in the decision to temporarily suspend our season – based on the advice and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and other public health authorities, and in the best interest of our fans, players, officials, and employees,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “We’d like to thank our fans for their continued support during this challenging time.”
Later Thursday morning, the NHL announced they will “pause” the remaining 2019-2020 games. In the release, the NHL said, “We will continue to monitor all the appropriate medical advice, and we will encourage our players and other members of the NHL community to take all reasonable precautions – including by self-quarantine, where appropriate. Our goal is to resume play as soon as it is appropriate and prudent, so that we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup. Until then, we thank NHL fans for your patience and hope you stay healthy.”
The American Hockey League suspended play of the 2019-2020 season shortly after the NHL suspended play. The AHL said, they will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the 2019-2020 season at the appropriate time.
On Wednesday, the NCAA said they would be limiting fan attendance at conference tournaments. On Thursday, March Madness tournament and several NCAA conferences canceled their conference tournaments. Those conferences included the Big 10, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12, ACC, and AAC. San Diego State has also postponed all spring sports.
Major League Baseball joined other major sports leagues on Thursday by canceling the remaining spring training and pushing opening day back by at least two weeks. Commissioner Rob Manfred, “the actions were being taken in the interests of the safety and well-being of the players, clubs, and millions of loyal fans.”
NASCAR also has postponed races for the next two weeks. The races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami will take place at a later date. In addition, Indy Car has also announced all events through April have been postponed.
The United Soccer League has also suspended its season. The commissioner says the suspension will last a minimum of 30 days.
In San Diego, the National Lacrosse League and Major League Rugby have also postponed their seasons.
The XFL canceled their regular-season games. In their statement, they said that all players would be paid their base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular season. They are committed to playing a full season next year in 2021 and into the future.
The Boston Marathon has also been postponed. It was set to be ran on April 20, but officials have moved it back to September 14.