A source said there will be no law enforcement inside the NBA bubble at DisneyGETTY IMAGES
The NBA has "shared with its players a security plan to help enforce the health and safety protocols it announced last week and secure its campus at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex," according to sources cited by Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com. A source said that there will be "no law enforcement within the campus." Bontemps reported law enforcement will "only be used outside of it to keep the campus secure." NBA locations in Orlando also will have "secured perimeters, technological security deployments and a 'fusion center' approach to threat intelligence." Any off-campus movement "would be limited to either a preapproved emergency or a planned movement supported by NBA security" (ESPN.com, 6/25).
COULD THE BUBBLE BURST? In Chicago, Mike McGraw writes what "seemed like a relatively safe destination" in Orlando a couple of months ago has "turned into a COVID-19 hot spot." That is "where the bubble is in danger of bursting." Resort staff members, the people who "prepare the food, clean the hotel rooms, etc., will be living at home and interacting with the rest of Orlando" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 6/26). In California, Kyle Goon writes there are "built-in perforations in the bubble, which means it matters how many COVID cases are in the surrounding area." Disney Cast members are the "X-factors in this situation." While people within the inner tiers of the NBA restart will be "rigorously tested in multiple ways and aggressively isolated if they test positive, the NBA doesn’t have that kind of control over the theoretical thousands of workers who will help staff the hotels, arenas and other areas the league will occupy for more than three months" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 6/26). In DC, Barry Svrluga writes, "Suppose an NBA player tests negative upon entry into the bubble." Svrgula: "What if he sneaks out and goes to a restaurant? Or what if he was carrying the virus on the way into the bubble but was asymptomatic, which can happen? Now the virus is in the bubble, and given the contact in practices and games, the bubble just might become the equivalent of a cruise ship. A breakout is pretty easy to envision" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/26).
NBA RELEASES TEST RESULTS: The NBA on Friday announced 16 players have tested positive for coronavirus after testing 302 players in all on Tuesday (NBA). ESPN's Zach Lowe reported teams "expected these tests to come back positive." He said, "There are even some people at teams who would say, ‘You know what, if you start with the assumption that some of our guys are going to test positive and we hope they recover and all of that, it’s almost better for them to do it now where they can quarantine and then get back into shape than it would if we go to Orlando and they do it in the middle of the conference finals.’ That’s sort of a callous, competitive way of looking at that time, but that line of thought is out there” (“Get Up,” ESPN, 6/26).
SHUT IT DOWN: In Sacramento, Marcos Breton wrote under the header, "NBA, Please Cancel The Season. Your Players Just Can’t Beat Team Coronavirus" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 6/25). YAHOO SPORTS' Ben Rohrbach goes with, "It Is Time For The NBA To Call Off The 2019-20 Season" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/24).
