As the world continues to battle the COVID-19 virus, we tend to use sports as a way to escape the drama going on around us. We oftentimes forget though that athletes too are humans and are putting their lives on the line every single day with the virus continuing to spread across the country, which is why the NBA and the NBPA have agreed to new terms on health protocols.
On Thursday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that both the NBA and National Basketball Player’s Association have agreed to new COVID-19 protocols for the holiday season that not only includes mask mandates, but much more testing than the league has seen over the last few months.
Not only will there be an increase in daily testing for all players and staff, but an increase in face coverings and masks as well. This agreement starts on December 26 and the elevated testing will occur for two weeks through January 9.
All players and staff are going to be required by these new guidelines to wear masks while on the bench, in team workout facilities and while traveling with the team, per ESPN.
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The rise in COVID-19 cases continues to rise across the country and not only is the NBA dealing with health problems right now, but pretty much every other professional sports league in action is having to change their guidelines around to accommodate the recent spread of the virus.
Since the start of December, 52 players, 2 head coaches and one league executive have entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and it is beginning to draw questions about whether or no teams are going to be able to play.
Earlier this week, the NBA announced that it had postponed the Chicago Bulls’ games on Tuesday (12/14) and Thursday (12/16) because they did not have enough active players on their roster to play. The league minimum for a game is 8 players and because of the concern that players within the Bulls’ organization were testing positive each day, the league decided to put them on pause.
Now, with the Brooklyn Nets having 7 players, the Los Angeles Lakers having 4 players and the Sacramento Kings having 5 players in health and safety protocols, the league may have to step in and postpone more games should the issue not be contained with these new guidelines.
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Entering the year, the agreement in place was that vaccinated players were not required to get tested during the season, leaving only a small percentage of unvaccinated players having to follow strict policies, but now with the recent increase in positive cases not just in the league, but nationwide, teams are going to begin testing again on a frequent schedule.
When the pandemic first started, the NBA was forced to shut down for a couple of months and then resumed playing in the “Orlando Bubble” down in Florida. There have been no talks about creating another “bubble” environment this season in the NBA or shutting down completely, but if things continue to spiral out of hand, the league may not have a choice anymore.
Protecting the players and staff is the number one priority of commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA’s league office, which is why they came together quickly with the NBPA to amend the health guidelines around the league.
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With the holiday season here, it is not necessarily surprising to see COVID-19 numbers rise across the country, but it is definitely concerning.
The NBA is going to continue as usual with hopes that they do not need to change things anymore than they already have.
