COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, is having a huge impact on businesses and communities all around the world, but this column will focus only on the impact of this virus on the world of sports. You may want to wash your hands and use some sanitizer before reading this column. I can assure you, I did before writing this.

I have no intent to make this a political commentary, nor is any of this meant to give any advice regarding how to best handle this current pandemic. I just want to point out how the measures that have been taken to combat this virus is affecting those of us that work in sports.

When I say “us,” I do mean that I personally have been impacted by the shutdown of several sports leagues, but I’m certainly not alone. Thousands of people are currently out of work.

I do the P.A. announcing for several sports at ORU, including baseball in the spring. I first found out last Thursday that the games for that weekend were cancelled, then I received a text saying the Summit League had shut down all spring sports (baseball, track, golf and tennis) through the end of the March. Next, came a message that the Summit League had cancelled the rest of the spring season for all sports. For me, that’s 19 home baseball games without pay.

Another one of my many jobs is working for the United Soccer League, as an independent contractor. This is the league in which F.C. Tulsa plays. I received an email on Thursday stating the league would “suspend the 2020 season for a minimum of 30 days.”

So right now, the USL season is on hold, and they will try to reschedule all games that will be missed in the coming weeks, for later in the season. I hope so – no play, no pay. This is also true for the top division of pro soccer, Major League Soccer (MLS).

The NBA and the NHL have both announced they are putting their seasons on hold, and hope to resume play when it is “prudent and safe to start back up.” People already think the NBA and NHL playoffs run too long into the summer, but this year, that is almost a guarantee.

Major League Baseball took a drastic step in shutting down Spring Training throughout Florida and Arizona, and gave the option to the players whether they wanted to stay there or go to their respective homes. MLB will assess the situation in a few weeks and decide when to begin the season, which was scheduled to begin, March 26. However, MLB did say that there may be a time that players will need to get ready before the season begins, so expect at least another week or two of training camp before the regular season begins.

Minor League baseball has done the same thing, and for me that means I won’t be running the pace of play clock for the Texas League at a Drillers game anytime soon. That will certainly add to my lack of income this spring. I hope the baseball season begins soon.

NOT JUST ME

But, as I mentioned earlier, it’s certainly not just me who is affected by all this. Think of the thousands of people that work in arenas, stadiums and ballparks all across the country. Thousands of people who are part-time/seasonal employees, or independent contractors, who are right now without any income while the world battles this virus, and until the authorities say it’s safe to start gathering in large crowds again.

Thank goodness, working at ORU, for the USL and for the Texas League, are side jobs for me, and not my main source of income, but it’s still a very substantial part of my income each year.

I think of my cousin Mark, who is retired, but it is still a beer hawker in Buffalo at Bills and Sabres games. With the NHL on hold, he’s not making that extra money that augments his limited retirement income. My friend Nick in Cincinnati, who is the P.A. announcer for the MLS team there, who just got married and has some wedding debt to pay off. And, my friend Alex, who was just recently thrilled to be hired by CBS to do play-by-play for some regional college basketball games, and that income has come to a halt.

I also think about the hundreds of local workers at ONEOK field, who like myself, will not get paid until the USL and Texas League seasons get underway. We all hope it’s not a long wait.

Although I’m no longer directly connected to the Tulsa Oilers, I still feel sorry for the folks at the BOK Center who are affected by the cancellation of the rest of the ECHL season; the off-ice officials, the concession workers, the team’s seasonal staff, etc. Plus, the Oilers were in contention for a playoff spot, but now a 2020 ECHL Champion will not be crowned.

Here’s hoping and praying this will all be over soon; toilet paper and eggs will return to grocery store shelves, and we can get back to making money in the sports world. Until then, go wash your hands.