USA vs. Australia exhibition canceled; health protocols cited

Tom Gatto

USA vs. Australia exhibition canceled; health protocols cited image

USA Basketball announced late Thursday that its men's Olympic exhibition game vs. Australia scheduled for Friday had been canceled because of "health and safety protocols."

The game was scrapped "(o)ut of an abundance of caution," USA Basketball said in a statement. 

Earlier Thursday, Team USA placed guard Bradley Beal in its health and safety protocols. It is not clear whether Beal tested positive for COVID-19. Beal is under quarantine, however, which means he will not play in the Tokyo Olympics.

MORE: USA Basketball men's, women's schedules

USA player Jerami Grant is also in the team's health and safety protocols.

Beal, who starred for the Wizards last season, started each of Team USA's first three exhibitions in its pre-Olympics tour. He averaged 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

The Americans' exhibition Sunday against Spain remains on. That game will be Team USA's final one before it leaves for Tokyo. The U.S. women's team is still on to play Australia on Friday afternoon. Its final exhibition will be Sunday vs. Nigeria.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.