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Status Of Sports Leagues During Coronavirus Pandemic


Two more sports leagues have started back up, albeit with one key difference: World TeamTennis is playing in a quarantine bubble at a resort in West Virginia, while the USL Championship is taking the biggest risk of any American sports league yet by playing in teams’ home markets with reduced amounts of fans in stadiums.

Returned (with fans): PBR, WTT, USL Championship, NASCAR (All-Star race only thus far)

Returned (without fans): UFC, PGA, PBA, IndyCar, F1, NWSL, MLS

Canceled: World Surf League, Minor League Baseball, ECHL, NBA G League, NLL, AHL, XFL, NCAA (spring sports), Tokyo Olympics (postponed to 2021)

LEAGUE(S) STATUS NOTES
LPGA Suspended until July 31 The LPGA returns to play in late July after a roughly six-month layoff. The first event will be the Drive On Championship, in Toledo, Ohio. It was announced this week that the AIG Women's British Open would be played without fans in late August. The tour has added several sponsors related to the mitigation of COVID-19, including the maker of the Whoop Strap, which can give wearers advance notice of COVID-like symptoms.
MLB Resuming play July 23 MLB has added a second testing lab on the east coast to speed up COVID-19 test results for its players, after public criticism from many over slow returns. The league is also testing out artificial crowd noise as MLB teams get intersquad scrimmages underway in advance of the 2020 season's start.
MLL Resuming play July 18 MLL will hold a one-week tournament at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, beginning July 18. Four of the league's six teams will qualify for a playoff the following week, which will be aired on the ESPN family of networks.
NBA Resuming play July 30 The NBA was the first major North American sports league to shut down because of the pandemic and commissioner Adam Silver said recently that he will take the same step if COVID-19 infiltrates the league's bubble at Disney World in Orlando. NBA players have arrived at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex this week and there is still great concern over the exploding Coronavirus situation there. The league announced this week that it's adding antibody tests to its COVID testing regimen in an effort to avoid false-positive tests that have impacted other leagues' return to play.
NFL Still on as scheduled Pressure is increasing on the NFL to finalize player safety plans ahead of the 2020 season, with training camps set to begin in three weeks. The NFLPA and owners are butting heads over whether the league's losses will be spread over the next few years (owners' desire) or a longer term (players' desire). There is also a looming issue similar to the one that dragged down MLB: what will NFL players be paid if a 16-game season isn't completed? And news about no fans in stadiums, including season ticket opt-outs, continue to drip out into public.
NHL Tentatively resuming play July 26 NHL teams returned to the ice this week as practices get underway in advance of the league's 24-team modified Stanley Cup playoff played without fans. Thanks to the league and players' agreement on a new CBA, the event starts July 26 and is being held in two hub cities, Toronto and Edmonton.
PLL Resuming play July 25 The Premier Lacrosse picked Salt Lake City to host its 16-day tournament held in quarantine conditions without fans from July 25 to Aug. 9, and shown on NBC Sports. The PLL scrapped its touring model in favor of remaining in one location, with matches played at Zions Bank Stadium. The league is also reworking contracts with multiple sponsors, including extending terms beyond 2021.
WNBA Returning to action in late July Rough week for the WNBA, which first made the news for Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler complaining about her players' support of Black Lives Matter, and, most recently, news that the league denied MVP Elene Delle Donne's medical exemption because Lyme Disease wasn't on its list of preexisting conditions impacted by COVID-19. A lack of exemption means Delle Donne would have to play or risk forfeiting her salary for the 2020 season. Those issues overshadowed the teams' first days in the league's quarantine bubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
WTA/ATP Resuming play in early August Both tours have been suspended since March, but will fire back up in early August, with the WTA commencing Aug. 3 in Palermo and the ATP starting Aug. 13 in D.C., at the Citi Open. The Top Seed Open in Nicholasville, Ky., will be the first American tournament since the tours suspended play; that WTA event begins Aug. 10 after it was temporarily moved for the year from the Citi Open. After D.C. and Kentucky, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will host the Western & Southern Open (temporarily moved for the year from Cincinnati), followed by the U.S. Open.
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Status of Leagues