NCAA's decision may not be popular, but observers feel organization made the right callGETTY IMAGES
The NCAA's decision to hold the NCAA Tournament with only essential staff and limited family in attendance is a "bold, but necessary, move," according to Kent Somers of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The thought of playing the NCAA Tournament in near-empty arenas "seemed like a fantasy." Somers: "No one, it seemed, wanted to step out, smack us upside the head and yell 'pay attention!'" But the NCAA "did that" yesterday (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/12). In New Orleans, Rod Walker writes while the decision "may not be popular," the NCAA "made the right call." The NCAA had "only three choices." They could "play the games in front of packed arenas and pretend coronavirus doesn't exist." They could "play them in empty arenas." Or, they could "cancel the tournament altogether." Walker: "Kudos to them not choosing the latter" (NOLA.com, 3/12). In Portland, John Canzano writes when "framed in a public health debate, playing games without fans and non-essential personnel present makes sense" (Portland OREGONIAN, 3/12). In Pittsburgh, Joe Starkey writes under the header, "Keeping Fans Away From Arenas Is Right Call In Face Of Pandemic" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 3/12).
PLAYING IT SAFE: In St. Louis, Benjamin Hochman writes the coronavirus is "too dangerous, too powerful to gamble on," so it is "better to be over-precautious" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/12). In Utah, Dick Harmon writes the "bottom line is that this limitation on crowd size, as a prevention, can’t hurt." Harmon: "Better to be safe than sorry" (DESERET NEWS, 3/12). In Detroit, Bob Wojnowski writes the NCAA's announcement was the "right thing to do, a growing inevitability, and yet the news strikes an unnerving chord." Wojnowski: "Public health takes precedence, obviously, and I doubt there will be much pushback from coaches and players" (DETROIT NEWS, 3/12).
TIME TO CANCEL? In Atlanta, Mark Bradley writes to "call it the most incredible day in the annals of American sports is an understatement," as in the span of five hours, almost every major form of U.S. basketball either "shuttered its games or stopped playing." All of this makes one wonder if the NCAA Tournament will "happen at all." Bradley: "The more I think about it ... the more I doubt the Big Dance will be played" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 3/12). In Boston, Tara Sullivan writes it is "finally time to consider the unthinkable: that the men’s and women’s tournaments will be canceled." It "feels as if sports should take a collective time out" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/12). In Chicago, Rick Morrissey writes at a "minimum, a fan-less existence is going to happen at stadiums throughout the sports world for an extended period." For the "common good, it’s best that the games don’t go on for a while" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/12). In N.Y., Mike Vaccaro wonders, "What else is coming? Can the NCAA really conduct its billion-dollar showcase event, in essence, in remote TV studios, honoring its broadcast commitments while barring the door on its fans, an exercise that would surely come across as base and cynical, to say nothing of being potentially reckless?" (N.Y. POST, 3/12).
COMING TO TERMS: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes before sports officials get "too much credit for prioritizing the health and safety of the public, remember that none of them did this willingly," as their priority was "always to keep the fans ... in the seats." Besides "wanting to dodge the obvious financial implications, no doubt some leaders in sports didn’t believe coronavirus was an existential threat" (USA TODAY, 3/12). In Raleigh, Luke DeCock writes the ACC only barred fans from attending the conference tournament in Greensboro "grudgingly, kicking and screaming behind the NCAA and the Big 12 and the Big Ten." But it "had to be done" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/12).
MONEY MATTERS: In Omaha, Jon Nyatawa writes the "harsh realities of a new order suddenly steamrolled into the college hoops mainstream." It was a "titanic edict that set the tone for an unprecedented day in this sport." The NCAA "made its determination," and that "rang loudly throughout the sport" (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 3/12). In K.C., Sam Mellinger writes the NCAA's decision will be "remembered forever -- March Muteness. One Silent Moment. Dance like nobody’s watching." But "really, in the end, there was not much of a choice" (K.C. STAR, 3/12). In Indianapolis, Gregg Doyel writes the coronavirus has "crossed over from a threat, an inconvenience ... into something deadly, something much more important than your ticket stub or my newspaper story." Doyel: "Let’s pretend like it matters that the NCAA has banned spectators from the 2020 NCAA Tournament. Let’s not get angry, because that would be stupid and worse" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 3/12). The NCAA last week had said that staging the NCAA Tournament behind closed doors was a "worst-case scenario." But the WALL STREET JOURNAL's Cohen, Radnofsky & Diamond note as momentum "built over the last week, that option appeared to be the best-case scenario for preserving billions of dollars in revenue it might stand to lose by canceling games altogether" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/12).
