The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which began in late January, has sent distress throughout the world and led to a public health emergency that caused countless deaths worldwide. According to The International Monetary Fund (IMF), this pandemic could be the start of the most drastic economic downturn since the Great Depression. As a result of this dreadful pandemic, it has postponed multifarious sporting events worldwide. This causes professional sporting leagues such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB to suspend their season to limit the spread of COVID-19. The uncertainty among sports fans throughout the nation is simply the unknown of what the future holds for professional sports worldwide in the given state of the world. 

The Coronavirus pandemic has had an immense impact around the world, which resulted in being cautious and practicing social distancing the new normal. Professional sporting events have enforced strict rules to ensure everyone is safe from contracting the virus. The NBA has changed the way they hold sporting events tremendously. According to theundefeated.com, the NBA was contemplating putting plexiglass around the courtside area to separate players and fans. Caron Butler from theundefeated.com stated, “We have to be more informed about the virus, flus, all viruses, so we can better understand how to protect players and fans … I wouldn’t rule plexiglass out.” The NBA is stepping up to help provide protection to fans nationwide.

The pandemic has also had an effect on when the next Olympics will be. According to stma.org, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the future of the 2020 Olympics is in question, and sports teams and leagues are taking precautions as the virus continues to spread. A great deal of sports teams have terminated giving out autographs, or meeting up with fans in efforts to limit the spread of the virus. Many football teams’ seasons have also revised change because of the Pandemic. A football team in South America has postponed their season until 2021 due to the virus.

The Coronavirus has affected people in various ways including the cancellations and postponements of worldwide professional sports . Those who seek entertainment from watching their favorite sport, may not unfortunately have the opportunity to do so in the upcoming months due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19. Hopefully, in the foreseeable future COVID-19 will come to a halt and social gatherings such as sporting events will be permitted to the general public for entertainment. At the time being we as a society still need to follow social distancing and mask guidelines for the sake of the world to function properly once again.