DON’T CRY FOR ME TOKYO

From Wall Street to the streets of Tokyo, this insidious virus COVID-19 touches on every aspect of our lives and has affected every single one of us in this World in one way or another. From healthcare to small and large businesses, to colleges, schools, gyms, salons, bars, and restaurants, to sporting events, this virus does not discriminate. It has taken away our livelihood and left us under lock and key and isolation. 

With the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics just around the corner only four months away, there have been closed door meetings among the various nations’ Olympic Committees regarding the decision of whether to postpone the Games to 2021.  

The International Olympic Committee announced yesterday that it will make a decision whether to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Games at some point in the next four weeks. So far the US Olympic Committee has indicated that it has no plans to ask that the Games be postponed. It is a wait and see at this point. We do not know whether the virus will subside within the next few weeks or months or whether it will continue to spread. 

The Canadian Olympic Committee just issued a statement advising it would not send athletes to the Tokyo Games this summer and called for them to be postponed for one year. Canada is the first country so far to make this threat to boycott the Games in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Imagine the devastation for all the World’s athletes who have trained so hard and have dedicated their lives working towards this goal of making an Olympic team. The Olympics itself is certainly not conducive to practicing social distancing. Athletes train together, compete together, share equipment and live together in the Olympic Village. Athletes converge from every Nation. 

In addition to the real threat of contracting this virus and the current practice of social distancing, athletes for the most part are on lockdown and their training has been curtailed. For example the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships were cancelled. This is a key event leading up to Olympic Trials. 

With the Olympics starting in July, athletes have not been able to train properly for the upcoming Olympic trials. Some are quarantined and others do not have full access to their coaches, trainers, therapists or training facilities. Athletes train in cycles in order to peak at certain times and this disruption in their livelihood is heartbreaking. Take a look at gymnastics for example. Women gymnasts have a relatively short career when compared to some other sports. A female gymnast may be 16 years old for the 2020 Olympics but will be 20 years old for the next Olympics should the Games be cancelled all together until 2024. That athlete may not be able to sustain the body composition required for this particular sport and may not be able to continue the rigorous training schedule for another four years.

Bottom line is if the Games have to absolutely be postponed, then one year to me is a reasonable alternative.  

March Madness is not just a Tournament

CANCELLED, CANCELLED, CANCELLED. A multi-billion dollar industry cancelled just like that. March Madness is the perfect name for what’s been going on this month. This is the month that sports died. This is the month that athletes around the nation and world died inside. This is a month that will go down in history. Imagine these athletes having trained so hard for the upcoming season, championships and maybe their last senior season. Imagine the heartbreak and sense of loss. My heart goes out to all student-athletes especially those high school seniors who are missing out on championship meets and games and will never get that back. 

One of the greatest titles I had in life was student-athlete. I would not trade that title for anything. I earned it through a lot of grit, pain, heartbreak, and love and hate relationship with my events. My coaches throughout the years from high school to college to post collegiate will always have a special place in my heart. I would be heartbroken if my high school senior season had been cut short. It was the year I finally qualified for the New York State High School Championship meet in the 100 meter hurdles. As a collegiate student-athlete I thrived during our Division 1 championship meets. Athletes start to lost their identity once the game stops and this is a trend we will be seeing. It’s so important for them to receive the support and advise and transitional skills to get out ahead of this crisis. 

The NCAA ended the remainder of its 2019-20 winter and spring seasons amid the Coronavirus pandemic with no sports being played until the fall. No championships in any remaining sport, no March Madness, no College World Series. What happens come summer training camps and Fall Football season? Collegiate  Spring football has already been suspended. So far the US Olympic trials have not been cancelled or postponed. The Tokyo Olympics plans to proceed. I think by mid-April we will have a better sense of whether this virus is starting to settle down. 

Imagine the revenue that will be lost as a result of the shut down? The NCAA on average pulls in $1 Billion a year in revenue from ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, and media ads mostly deriving from championship events such as March Madness. Never mind what the professional leagues pull in. It well surpasses $1Billion. 

It’s not just the athletes that are affected. It literally takes a team to run a team. I feel for the athletic departments, sports media, coaches, trainers, parents and fans. To many coaches these athletes are their kids as much as their own. They are a family. 

The loss extends to the professional major leagues. The MLB is delaying the start of its season two weeks. The NBA and NHL have suspended their seasons indefinitely. MLS is putting its season on a 30-day hold. Around the world athletes are affected. Italian national team player and Juventus star Rugani tested positive and FIFA has postponed all international games.  

The good news is that the NCAA council leadership announced on Friday that ALL Division 1 student-athletes who participate in spring sports will not lose a season of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic. But what about Division 2 and 3 athletes? I am all for granting all divisions of students-athletes a spring eligibility season. However this is an expensive endeavor and logistically complicated. If spring-semester athletes are allowed another year of eligibility, colleges have to pay for those scholarships. And if an athlete isn’t on a full scholarship, which many are not, who foots the rest of the bill? The parents? The NCAA, the college? 

Also an extra year of eligibility would mean expanded team rosters. The NCAA would have to temporarily change its rules to accommodate these exceptions.  NCAA rules are very strict as to how many paid coaches are hired per team per roster. Will more paid coaches be authorized to accommodate the expanded rosters? There are still many questions and issues that will be addressed and resolved in the coming weeks and months.  

There has been some chatter about senior basketball players being given an extra year of eligibility, although that seems unlikely since only the postseason was interrupted. Under the current NCAA rules, once a student-athlete appears in 30 percent of his or her season schedule or past the halfway point of that season, it counts as a year of eligibility. Not the way to end a senior’s collegiate career. 

When will the madness end?