by Ryan Duvall ’21

About three weeks ago the Covid-19 pandemic that had been tearing the world apart made its way to America. The respiratory illness made instant changes to our daily lives, shutting down businesses, schools, and sports. And now, at the beginning of April, the country could be headed towards a national lockdown, leaving sports enthusiasts throughout America wondering when professional leagues will resume activity.

The NBA and NHL, America’s premier basketball and hockey leagues, were both nearing the end of their regular seasons when they were forced to shut down, which has led to many rumors about what’s next for both leagues. Some players in the NBA, like Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, have expressed interest in a postseason tournament similar to March Madness, where all 30 teams are included. However, according to Sports Illustrated, the NBA is looking into playing their normal 16 team playoffs in Las Vegas. Although this idea makes sense (isolating players in one city, makes the league money) it just doesn’t seem realistic to expect players to leave their families and risk their own health. Commissioner Adam Silver will re-evaluate the situation later this month. The NHL is still hoping to play hockey sometime this season, but it could be difficult considering that they have commited to play a full 82 game season in the 2020-2021 season, and players will become free agents on July 1. Commissioner Gary Bettman has said that the league is looking into all options.

 Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer, on the other hand, appear more likely to resume than the NBA and NHL, especially considering they were just beginning their seasons. The MLB suspended play in the middle of their preseason, Spring Training. Commissioner Rob Manfred has committed to play baseball once conditions are safe, and on March 26, the league and its players agreed to salvage the most games they can. This would mean that once the season begins, teams would play as many games as they could, whether they had a double header every other day, or multiple neutral site games. The biggest change would be a regular season that goes through October and playoffs in November. 

The MLS, a league that just received its first case of Covid-19, also has a plan in place, extending their suspension from April 11 to May 10, in order to follow guidelines recommended by the CDC. The league is still committed to play a full 34-game season, pushing their postseason, the MLS Cup, to December. Atlanta United PresidentDarren Eales believes the league could even come back within weeks, not months. 

Overall, things look most promising for soccer and baseball, and the MLS could make a return in mid June being the first league to come back, with the MLB following them at the beginning of July. The NHL and NBA might be done for the year.