SAN ANTONIO — Professional basketball games in empty arenas may soon be a temporary reality for the NBA as the global coronavirus outbreak continues to spurn discussion within organizations both large and local about the best ways to contain it.
According to Shams Charania, an NBA reporter for The Athletic, the NBA is encouraging teams to "prepare" for the possibility of playing games "without fans in attendance," should it arrive at that point.
The development wouldn't be the first instance of the COVID-19 virus affecting the sports world in a major way. Earlier this week, Olympics officials hinted that the summer games in Tokyo could be postponed to later this year.
Also in Japan, the recently-held Tokyo Marathon was limited to elite-level runners to mitigate the spread of the virus. And, back stateside, the National College Players Association recently sent a memo to NCAA officials urging "serious discussion about holding competitions without an audience present" with the start of the March Madness Tournament just weeks away.
More than 100,000 people worldwide have been infected by coronavirus, and the disease caused by the virus has killed more than 3,400 globally.
