Earlier this month, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) made a public case to professional sports leagues unable to resume modified practice schedules or seasons across the country due to the coronavirus and associated restrictions: Come to Florida!
“All professional sports are welcome here for practicing and for playing,” DeSantis told reporters at a press conference in mid-May, according to ESPN. “What I would tell commissioners of leagues is, if you have a team in an area where they just won’t let them operate, we’ll find a place for you here in the state of Florida.”
Now, with DeSantis fresh from blasting the people who predicted the pandemic would devastate Florida “just like Italy,” it’s looking like the National Basketball Association may decide to take him up on the offer.
In a statement released on Saturday afternoon, the NBA said that it was looking to restart the season in July, under a plan that would make Walt Disney World the league’s host amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
“The NBA, in conjunction with the National Basketball Players Association, is engaged in exploratory conversations with the Walt Disney Company about restarting the 2019-20 NBA season in late July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing,” said the statement.
While the announcement does not reveal any definitive plans, the league emphasized that the decision to resume the season would involve collaborating with public health experts and developing “comprehensive” guidelines. That said, it remains unclear whether the seasons would pick up from where it left off, or whether it would start in the playoffs.
“Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols are in place,” reads the statement.
The following is a statement from NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass: pic.twitter.com/8gfK5iVXs8
— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2020
The World of Sports Complex, a 200+ acre campus with multiple arenas, is located only a couple of miles from Disney World’s nearest theme park. Individuals with “knowledge of the league’s thinking” told The Washington Post that the season will likely resume in several phases, including an initial quarantine phase for players. However, the league has not made any such details publicly available.
As The New York Times reported in mid-March, the NBA’s decision to abruptly suspend the season came after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for coronavirus, and the move coincided with an avalanche of uncertainty in the professional and college sports world that brought the severity of the pandemic, and the seriousness of the subsequent government response, into the public view.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.