Column: Sports virus grades are in, at least for midterms

It’s been three months and a few days since Adam Silver pulled the plug on NBA games, the first domino in a long row of events to fall to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Enough time for Silver and leaders of other major sports to take stock of the new enemy and the dangers it poses. Enough time to begin sorting out a path back to what will surely be a new normal.

They've now got a body of work to analyze, and it's a mixed bag. Though nothing could really prepare those in charge of the country's major sports for the ravages of the pandemic, some have risen to the challenge better than others.

With that in mind, here are the pandemic grades — let’s be optimistic and call them midterms — for commissioners who have been forced to write a new playbook:

ROGER GOODELL

The NFL commissioner might have scored higher had we been grading earlier. He not only pulled off a virtual draft but was a surprise hit hosting the proceedings from his basement somewhere outside New York City. The real test is just starting, though, with a season looming and two glittering new stadiums set to open at a time when no one knows how many fans — if any — will be let inside. The NFL has so far been sparing in its details on how it will handle a new season, and reports of a number of players already testing positive for the virus don’t bode well for a sport that is more difficult to manage than others just because of the sheer size of the teams.

The bottom line is, no one really knows if the NFL season will actually begin as scheduled less than three months from now on a Thursday night in Kansas City.

GRADE: B, which doesn’t include the league’s badly mishandled stance on social protests.

GARY BETTMAN

For a commissioner whose commitment to player health is suspect by his refusal to...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Column-Sports-virus-grades-are-in-at-least-for-15347474.php