Banned Media

Okay, so where am I?

I’m hunkered down in my office disinfecting everything, including my phone, my desk, my water bottles and mugs, and even my 10-minute sand timer that’s been on my various desks for thirty plus years. Yes, the coronavirus (COVID-19) hysteria has hit multiple workplaces. Yes, people are freaking out. I mean, even Costco has stopped giving out free samples and the stock market is tanking. And no, I don’t have the virus and I have seldom even been susceptible to the flu. It’s business as usual for me.

Or so I thought…

But now it’s hitting the sports world and this Media Guy is none too happy. Most of you know that in addition to the four jobs I already have, I cover the Los Angeles Kings at various levels. One of the things I do are game recaps (here’s a couple recents: vs. Colorado / vs. Minnesota / vs. Vegas). This may or may not involve locker room access, but now that’s a moot point as four major sports leagues (NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS) have banned media from locker rooms due to coronavirus. The four also jointly announced that locker room access will be limited to players and essential personnel. The Professional Basketball Writers Association issued a statement saying it would temporarily comply with the ban.

Now teams aren’t allowing contact with the players and the media. Some, like the Calgary Flames, are putting do not not cross lines in pre- and post-game interviews instead of the normal scrums outside lockers in the dressing rooms.

Other teams have only banned actions (handshakes, knuckles, hugs, sitting) and not actual media members…

In California, they took the outbreak a step further. Santa Clara County’s Public Health Department announced today that a mandatory order requiring cancellation of “mass gatherings” of more than 1,000 people for three weeks is in effect. They put the order in place while it studies the spread of the virus. This means that the status of three San Jose Sharks games, the NCAA women’s basketball tournament at Stanford, and an MLS game are in doubt. They could be playing these games in empty arenas. I remember in 1980, NBC tried a game with no announcers. But a game without fans? How surreal.

I guess that is better that canceling the outcome of an entire season where Germany’s pro hockey league announced the end of its season, with no playoffs and “there is no German champion this year.” Here’s the official announcement (use the Google translate option to read in full).

In Italy, there are no sporting events…