Governor Cuomo Gives Green Light to Major Sports Teams
In today's (Monday's) daily press conference New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave the green light to major sports teams in the state to start the process of preparing to begin or resuming operations. Governor Cuomo said "hockey, basketball, baseball, football...whoever can reopen...we're a ready, willing and able partner." The Governor went on to say that "I think this is in the best interest of all the people and the best interest of the state of New York." The green light is contingent on local guidelines being adhered to and that teams should prepare to open without fans in attendance.
Basketball and hockey have had play suspended since the middle of March due to concerns over the Coronavirus. Both the NBA and NHL have been closely monitoring the pandemic and attempting to formulate a return plan.
Major League Baseball (MLB) has presented a plan to the Player's Association on starting the baseball season but no agreement has been reached. MLB suspended Spring Training camps in the latter part of March and has not played any regular season games.
The NFL may actually get training camps underway before any progress is made in the other major professional sports. The NFL has cleared their teams to begin to open training facilities tomorrow (Tuesday) providing all local guidelines and criteria are met. Specifics of openings include:
No more than 75 personnel allowed to open facilities.
No players are allowed to use any facilities yet unless they are there for rehabilitation or other injury recovery work.
No coaches are permitted at the facilities.
Each team has assigned a staff member to be their league representative to administer the opening of their training facilities. The NFL is holding a league-wide video teleconference meeting tonight (Monday night) to discuss the guidelines to adhere to in order to open their venues.
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