I'm hunkered down in my office disinfecting everything, including my phone, my desk, my water bottles and mugs, and even my 10-minute sand timer that's been on my various desks for thirty plus years. Yes, the coronavirus (COVID-19) hysteria has hit multiple workplaces. Yes, people are freaking out. I mean, even Costco has stopped giving out free samples and the stock market is tanking. And no, I don't have the virus and I have seldom even been susceptible to the flu. It's business as usual for me.
Or so I thought...
But now it's hitting the sports world and this Media Guy is none too happy. Most of you know that in addition to the four jobs I already have, I cover the Los Angeles Kings at various levels. One of the things I do are game recaps (here's a couple recents: vs. Colorado / vs. Minnesota / vs. Vegas). This may or may not involve locker room access, but now that's a moot point as four major sports leagues (NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS) have banned media from locker rooms due to coronavirus. The four also jointly announced that locker room access will be limited to players and essential personnel. The Professional Basketball Writers Association issued a statement saying it would temporarily comply with the ban.
Now teams aren't allowing contact with the players and the media. Some, like the Calgary Flames, are putting do not not cross lines in pre- and post-game interviews instead of the normal scrums outside lockers in the dressing rooms.
Click on this pic to see the white line placed on the floor to separate players from the media with eight feet of space. This is the new daily interviewing setup in pro sports. Strange times indeed. pic.twitter.com/F5pnI5eC1T— Eric Francis (@EricFrancis) March 10, 2020
Other teams have only banned actions (handshakes, knuckles, hugs, sitting) and not actual media members...
#Avs have elected to keep the locker room open for media with the following rules: pic.twitter.com/f26EEKQsOJ— Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) March 8, 2020
In California, they took the outbreak a step further. Santa Clara County's Public Health Department announced today that a mandatory order requiring cancellation of "mass gatherings" of more than 1,000 people for three weeks is in effect. They put the order in place while it studies the spread of the virus. This means that the status of three San Jose Sharks games, the NCAA women's basketball tournament at Stanford, and an MLS game are in doubt. They could be playing these games in empty arenas. I remember in 1980, NBC tried a game with no announcers. But a game without fans? How surreal.
In Italy, there are no sporting events...
Breaking: All sports in Italy have been halted because of the coronavirus outbreak, Italy Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed in a television address on Monday. pic.twitter.com/eLp4YRIeTT— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 9, 2020
The NHL's Columbus Blue Jacket are having no part of Ohio's ban on indoor events...
All #CBJ scheduled games will go on as scheduled and be open to ticketed fans.— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 10, 2020
Full Statement ⤵️ https://t.co/mLN5ImQVlE
How will this affect the Media Guy? I'll continue to write my columns and fill in the time helping corporations who know to call me before releasing questionable content with a multi-million dollar ad campaign. So, until all of this blows over, remember this useful World Health Organization video on how to wash your hands:
