By Austin Turner — Columnist
Let me preface this by saying I’m only 22 years old.
But the last 24 hours has far-and-away been the craziest news cycle I have ever seen, sports or otherwise.
The coronavirus is taking over the world and it’s not stopping any time soon.
We’ve seen the President restrict travel to-and-from Europe. We’ve seen America’s grandpa Tom Hanks and his wife be diagnosed. We’ve seen the NBA suspend its season in the wake of two players testing positive and we’ve likely seen the last college basketball action of the season.
What we haven’t seen, however, is the Mountain West or San Jose State athletics say a word about the virus, other than business will run as usual.
Check the MW Twitter account, their last tweet was 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday and it was about tennis. The SJSU athletics account hasn’t said a peep since Monday.
The SJSU football account sent out a tweet Wednesday night promoting a Friday-night open spring practice.
We aren’t the only ones being left in the dark.
SJSU softball head coach Peter Turner told The Spear that SJSU athletics has given him “no info yet.” Softball has a home game scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m.
Now, let’s be real for a quick second. San Jose State sporting events aren’t exactly Coachella or the Final Four.
But with recent news of most conference basketball tournaments being cancelled and NBA players testing positive, SJSU needs to cancel or postpone all sporting events in the spring.
We still don’t exactly know the reach of the virus. There are 48 confirmed cases in Santa Clara County according to Santa Clara County Public Health, but it would be naive to assume that’s remotely close to the actual number. A congressional doctor reportedly briefed congress behind closed doors that he expects between 70-150 million people in America to contract the virus.
The damage that can result from simply playing softball games or having spring football practice is far too costly to even consider moving forward with spring sports. The thought of even doing so is irresponsible.
It isn’t just having fans in the stands. People should know by now that attending a college baseball game probably isn’t in their best interest, particularly if they’re elderly, so that isn’t exactly the issue.
The issue is travel. As many as three TSA workers at Mineta San Jose Airport have tested positive for COVID-19. Think about how many people TSA workers come in contact with on a daily basis.
Should athletic departments around the country be subjecting athletes to this sort of environment just for the sake of playing a game?
Obviously this isn’t a black-or-white issue. There is lots, and I mean lots, of money at stake. But we as a society need to act responsibly in times like this.
While we wait for SJSU athletics to make an announcement before Friday’s football practice and three scheduled home games on Saturday, look at what others are doing.
As SJSU club sports coordinator Winston Adams tells The Spear, 34-of-35 club sports on campus are cancelled through spring break, with the lone exception being Esports.
Times like these tend to put things in perspective. We love sports. That’s why you’re reading this and that’s why I’m writing it. Sports are important. They help us heal in tough times like this. But there’s a line that has to be drawn when it comes to public safety.
The Mountain West and SJSU athletics need to draw that line sooner, rather than later.
Follow Austin on Twitter @AustinTurner_
