By William Hathaway
On July 20, Governor Phil Murphy announced that due to the coronavirus outbreak, sports fans won’t be allowed at MetLife Stadium, as there is currently a statewide limit of 500 people at outdoor gatherings. This rule certain applies to both the Giants and Jets. Rutgers football is also looking at playing home games without fans this year, that is, if a college football season takes place this fall. Any and all spectators will be limited to the immediate family of players and coaches.
Despite this, Murphy has made exceptions for “low risk” activities, such as karate schools, but with no sparring and an emphasis on instruction.
Major League Baseball is currently engaged in “Summer Training” as the Mets and Yankees are taking to the field with no one in the stands. The big issue right now is the fate of the Toronto Blue Jays, who are desperately seeking somewhere to play home games after Canadian officials declined to allow baseball games in that country, as well as other locations nixing the idea. This issue is a little different for Canadian NHL teams, as that league has its own unique protocols for when the league resumes, again without fans. Meanwhile, the NBA will start up inside a “bubble” in Florida.
NCAA Tournament men’s and women’s basketball tournament hockey have been pushed back to hopefully resume once the virus is done or strongly contained. This is also holding true for high school sports. The football regular season has already been pushed back one month to October.
