While keen fans around the world await the return of the 2020 season, Commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver, has said that there is no certainty on whether the season would be resumed or cancelled.
The basketball season was suspended after a player tested positive for the virus and since then, the NBA has not said anything of a possible return. According to Silver, “we are not in any position to make any decisions and it’s unclear when we will be.”
Part of that is due to the high number of cases the US has had to manage, being the highest in the world. This led to the enforcement of a strict lockdown to limit contact and spread of the virus.
The cases in the US are still high with no sign of the curve flattening. With no end in sight, as no vaccines have been approved, it is impossible to say when things would get back to normal.
Silver, after a teleconference with other NBA stakeholders on Friday, said that the body had yet to make any decision on the way forward for the season.
He said the indecisiveness was “based on reports that we got from varied outside officials, current public health officials.” So far, there has been no hint from people in the health sector for when there would be a decline in the virus.
For Silver, before any decision can be made, there has to be a decline in cases, increased testing around the country, and serious progress in the area of vaccines. Silver maintained that the health and safety of not just the players but also the health workers was their utmost priority at the moment.
While everyone hopes the season can resume soon, we also have to deal with the reality on ground.
Making any rash decision without paying attention to available information is not something anyone would want to do, especially not someone like Silver, who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump as part of the body in charge of restarting the US economy.
Written by: Leon Osamor