Imbeciles like Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman seem hell-bent on endangering millions of lives, but as the NBA seeks to resume its derailed season, it’ll be taking a more measured approach as cities throughout the country ignore a surging pandemic in favor of lifting stay-at-home orders.
ESPN reports that after initially announcing that it would allow teams to reopen their practice facilities on May 1, the NBA has tentatively pushed back that date to May 8 after the Atlanta Hawks looked around at all the people acting a fucking fool in their city and said, “Nah, bruh.”
“We are going to wait and see what happens in the state over the couple weeks,” Hawks president of basketball operations and general manager Travis Schlenk told ESPN. “If there’s a positive response, we’ll slowly open up. If it’s a negative response, we’ll make sure our staff and players remain healthy.”
On Friday, Kemp made a decision so asinine that even Donald Trump tried to provide a voice of reason: He gave the OK for the re-opening of movie theaters, bowling alleys and other heavily populated, yet non-essential businesses throughout Georgia despite the state reporting disturbing increases in coronavirus-related deaths—as much as a five percent jump per day.
You’ve gotta be a special kind of stupid—or evil—to deliberately imperil an entire state, yet here we are.
To sidestep all of that bullshit, the league has outlined some parameters of what teams can expect when they return to practice facilities in May, including players being banned from using public training facilities or gymnasiums and a strict ban on group activities like practices.
From ESPN:
ESPN obtained a 16-page league memo on Monday that detailed to teams the requirements of reopening facilities, including allowing only four players in a facility at one time and having only one staff member supervising. No coaches are to be allowed in the workouts with players, the memo said. A distance of 12 feet must be kept among individuals on the court.
The NBA also told teams that there would be a process put in place to help teams in closed states find options to get back onto the floor on this limited basis, the memo said.
There’s also this juicy nugget from ESPN:
Among a dozen GMs reached by ESPN, most said they had apprehensions about bringing back players into facilities in regions where politics, not science and medical expertise, seemed to be driving the reopening of businesses.
“There has been a concern that players could start flocking to states that are reopening,” one team president told ESPN on Sunday.
It sounds like we’re still a very long way from enjoying any NBA action, but hopefully, this is settled soon so that we’ll be one step closer to the finish line.