NHL To Announce Locker Room Policy Amid Coronavirus Worries

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that the league is "weighing a number of options, including closing locker room access to the media, as the concern over the coronavirus escalates." Bettman said that he "wouldn't be surprised if the closed locker room becomes a league-wide mandate for at least the short term" (ESPN.com, 3/7). The Islanders, Rangers and Devils yesterday were "among the first teams in North American pro sports leagues to close locker room access to the media in wake of coronavirus concerns" (N.Y. POST, 3/8). The Wild yesterday "closed its locker room to media" at Staples Center, "getting a jump on a policy the NHL is expected to formally announce" tomorrow at the recommendation for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to stop the spread of the coronavirus (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/8). Meanwhile, the Penguins and Capitals "opened their locker rooms after their games" yesterday and the Ducks "opened their room after they practiced" (L.A. TIMES, 3/8).