Sport and the Coronavirus Crisis Special Issue: An Introduction

The world experienced a tremendous amount of challenges and change during the year 2020. Having been first reported on December 31, 2019, a novel coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV or COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), entered the global landscape, altering the daily lives of nearly everyone in its path. During the early months of 2020, cases began to grow in Asia, hitting China the hardest. As the world watched government actions and news updates out of China, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, the virus began to make its way across the globe. One would think that tracking the spread of this virus would be noticeable based on symptoms, hospitalizations, and subsequent loss of life for thousands of people. However, COVID-19 presented the health profession, and the world community, with puzzle pieces that often were and are still hidden. What made tracking this virus especially difficult was the potential for asymptomatic carriers and transfer, a 2-week window of contagious activity, and the way the virus was affecting differing age groups. Once the virus began to spread, or cases became further known, European countries and the United States developed into hot spots for virus cases and unfortunate death. As months passed, the virus continued into India, Russia, and major regions in South America and Africa. The period of March 10–13, 2020, is a key timeline of the coronavirus impact, as the sports world came to screeching halt. Leading up to this sport stoppage, many conversations about fan attendance were being held for high school, college, and professional competition. On March 10, in a decision that many thought to be premature, the Ivy League college basketball conference canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The events of the next 72 hours would prove the Ivy League correct in their decision, as it would be the first of many cancellations. Wednesday, March 11, is one day that many will remember, as it relates to the coronavirus crisis. During this day, the WHO declared the COVID-19 spread a pandemic, the first professional athlete was diagnosed with the virus (Juventus defender, Daniele Rugani), and Americans were hit squarely with the threat of the virus. In the span of an hour, the President of the United States banned travel to and from most of Europe, well-known actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announced they had contracted the virus, and a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Ut