Athletes Effected by the Coronavirus Pandemic

The World of Sports was Not Prepared

It didn’t take long for the global pandemic to affect and disrupt the sports world like it did so many other facets of life these past weeks. On March 12, the National Collegiate Athletic Associations (More commonly known as the NCAA) has canceled its widely popular March Madness Basketball Tournament and all other of its championships in winter and spring. On the same day, both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) suspended seasons that were already in progress to ensure the safety of their fans and athletes. At the same time, the Major League Baseball (MLB) postponed indefinitely on opening day.

Even local and less mainstream sports have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) announced that they would postpone their iconic Boston Marathon until September March 13th. But the icing on the sports-cancellation cake was on March 24th, when the International Olympic Committee announced the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, which was previously scheduled for July 24th through until August 9th. The delay will last until the Summer of 2021.

All of these high profile cancellations had attentions focused on the coming crisis, making life in quarantine quite dull for those who would prefer to be out and about and watching their favorite teams and athletes compete. All of this is necessary not just to keep the fans safe, but also competing athletes.
The COVID-19 virus does not differentiate between individuals, and no matter how talented an athlete you are, it is still more than possible that you can contract it. On March 12th, Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert was diagnosed with COVID-19 after having participated if tried to downplay the risk of the virus endangering teammates and members of the press.

Other teams have also experienced outbreaks, including the Brooklyn Nets, which announced on March 17th that four players had been diagnosed with Covid-19. The fitness and health of these athletes did not ensure their immunity to the disease, nor will it provide resistance to the most robust of weekend warriors.

How COVID-19 impacts health.

Leading Pediatric Pulmonologists have stated that, although they are still learning how the virus impacts health, they do know that it causes infection in the upper respiratory system, which can lead to complications in some patients, which could include pneumonia. However, in severe instances, the lungs will fill with fluid, leading to severe breathing difficulties and potential death.

COVID-19 is a virus that experts are still learning about, so some information is in flux. But like every virus, it attaches to the human body in certain places. With the novelty of COVID-19, the point of infection seems to center on the cells of the upper respiratory tract, by the upper airway like the nose and throat. This is why people are frequently reminded not to touch faces, eyes, or noses, especially with your unwashed hands. Once the virus is attached, it will set about infiltrating and hijacking the cells of the host to propagate more of the virus. Those replicated viruses, in turn, will cascade into new cells and overwhelm the body’s immune system before long. That is when you start to feel sick, and symptoms begin to emerge.