Basketball is officially back, but with fingers crossed amid concerns about whether the comprehensive plan formally approved on Friday will work.
With cases of COVID-19 spiking in Central Florida, where the NBA will resume its season next month, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said isolated cases among players will not stop play, as it did March 11 when the season was abruptly halted. But he also acknowledged that an outbreak could change all the plans the league and players association officially ratified on Friday.
“If we were to have significant spread of coronavirus throughout our community, that ultimately would lead us to stop it,” Silver said in a media conference call. “But we’re working closely with the Players’ Association, with Disney, and with public health officials in Florida as to what that line should be. And it hasn’t been precisely designed.
“We know that COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future and we are left with no choice but to learn to live with this virus. No option is risk-free right now. The challenge before us as an industry and a society is to find a safe and responsible way to operate.”
He and NBPA executive director Michele Roberts said they were optimistic that the stringent and detailed protocols in place for those in the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex outside Orlando would be sufficient.
“We needed to make sure that we could mitigate as much as possible with regard and reliance on the best that our experts could provide to us, a way for us to get back to playing, keep our players safe, keep our teams safe, and we did a lot of hard work, a lot of hard work,” Roberts said.
“We go into the restart of the season optimistic and excited that we can begin our game and not place any of our players or any of our family, the NBA family, at any risk.”
The league and players association announced there were 16 positive tests for COVID-19 among the 302 players tested this week, with Silver and Roberts saying they were relieved with the results. Silver said no one has been seriously ill.
“My ultimate conclusion is we can’t outrun the virus,” Silver said. “It is what we’re going to be living with for the foreseeable future, which is why we designed the campus the way we did. While it’s not impermeable, we are in essence protected from cases around us, at least that’s the model. For those reasons, we are still very comfortable with being in Orlando.”
Though infectious disease experts have said that the rise in cases and positivity rates in Central Florida is a threat even on the NBA’s campus because Disney workers will be in the local community each day, Silver said talks are ongoing about increasing the planned testing of those that will be in contact with players and NBA staff. He said testing of NBA players and others will initially be done daily when teams arrive July 7-9.
“Since we designed our initial protocol, we are continuing to work with Disney on at least a subset of their employees that could potentially be in the same room as our players and anyone else who is tested daily on our campus,” Silver said. “We are satisfied that once we work through those additional measures with Disney, we will continue to have a safe setting.”
The league and union had announced the resumption of the season was with “the goal of taking collective action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice.” Players association president Chris Paul said talks among union members brought disagreements but also extensive communication about using the platform of the season’s restart.
“We also understand how powerful our voice is, and so even if we’re back to playing, we understand that our voice can still be heard, our message can still be screamed loud and clear on an unbelievable platform, so just know that you’re going to continue to hear us,” Paul said. “Just know that. It’s never a shut-up-and-dribble situation. You’re going to continue to hear us and see us.”
When Paul was asked about former Thunder executive Troy Weaver being named the general manager of the Pistons, Silver followed with a pledge for the league to do better with hiring of minorities.
“I’d also acknowledge that the league needs to do a better job in particular when it comes to hiring African Americans at every level in the league,” he said. “It’s something that we have been focused on with our teams. I think the NBA can play a unique and broader role in terms of a voice for greater society, but first we have to make sure we’re doing as good a job as we can at home.”
The league’s next step will be to put the plans officially agreed upon in action, with rising concern and hope the season can be salvaged.
“This is definitely not business as usual,” Silver said. “This is far from an ideal way to finish our season. It will require tremendous sacrifices for all involved.”
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
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