NCAA Pressured to Consider Playing March Madness With No Fans
The head of the National College Players Association says the NCAA may need to be play March Madness with no fans
(Bloomberg) -- The head of the National College Players Association says the NCAA may need to be play March Madness with no fans to protect college athletes from coronavirus.
The advocacy group’s executive director Ramogi Huma called for “a serious discussion about holding competitions without an audience present” in a statement Saturday.
It wouldn’t be unheard of. The Italian Football Federation is planning for some Serie A games to take place behind closed doors, starting as soon as Sunday. A Paris half-marathon that was scheduled on Sunday was postponed after the French government’s decision to cancel all events that are expected to draw several thousand people.
“Precautions should include canceling all auxiliary events that put players in contact with crowds such as meet and greets, and press events,” Huma said, noting that Google just canceled a summit in California and Amazon is encouraging its employees to avoid all nonessential travel.
He urged athletic programs to sanitize buses and airplanes used to transport players. “There is no time to waste,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at hwaller@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Matthew G. Miller, Linus Chua
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