Sports: No vaccine, no crowd -California Governor
By George Aluo, with agency report
California Governor, Gavin Newsom has declared that he would not permit any sporting event with fans in the state, if there is no vaccine for the dreaded Coronavirus.
Newsom was quoted by Sports Business as saying that it would be difficult to imagine fans being part of games without a vaccine.
In the words of the governor whose state would be hosting the 2028 Olympics: “It’s difficult to imagine a stadium that’s filled until we have immunity, until we have a vaccine.
“It’s difficult to imagine what the leagues do when one or two of their key personnel or players are tested positive.
“Do they quarantine the rest of the team if an offensive lineman is practising with a defensive lineman, and they are tested positive? What happens to the rest of the line?
“What happens for the game coming up next weekend? It’s inconceivable to me that’s not a likely scenario.
“It’s a very tough question for these leagues to answer, because they must have a safety-first, health-first mindset, and there are conditions that persist in this state and this nation that make re-opening very, very challenging.”
California is home to 18 professional teams from American football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey and football’s top leagues.
His comments come on the same day that the National Football League (NFL) released its 2020 schedule, which still plans to start in September if possible.
One of those NFL teams is the Los Angeles Rams who await the opening of its new SoFi Stadium, hosting the Dallas Cowboys in the stadium’s first match.
The construction of the stadium was recently shrouded in controversy when a worker tested positive for COVID-19, but plans to build continued.
Rams coach Sean McVay has said despite the pandemic, he hopes that the match against the Cowboys can go ahead with a large crowd.
Speaking on a video conference call last week McVay said: “It’s still so far away, I mean, think about how much has taken place even [in the last] two months that we’ve been in these quarantine positions, I think we’ll just let it play itself out.
“It’s still going to be a football game, and we’re hopeful that it’ll be as normal as possible, but obviously the health and safety of everybody is the first and foremost consideration.”
SoFi Stadium will host the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as archery and football events.
