Chicago State canceling Western trip because of coronavirus concern, report says

Tom Gatto

Chicago State canceling Western trip because of coronavirus concern, report says image

Chicago State's men's basketball team reportedly is skipping a road trip to the Pacfic Northwest and Utah this week because of concerns about coronavirus.

The Cougars are slated to play at Seattle on Thursday and Utah Valley State on Saturday in Western Athletic Conference action, but Stadium's Jeff Goodman, citing unnamed sources, reported Tuesday that the school told the conference that the team will not travel to those games.

Washington state has been affected the most by coronavirus in the United States, with nine reported deaths in the state, all in the Seattle area. Those deaths are all of the known virus-related deaths in the U.S. 

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Neither Chicago State nor the WAC had commented on Goodman's report as of early Wednesday. The games at Seattle and Utah Valley State are the last two in the Cougars' regular season. The team is 4-25 overall and 0-14 in the conference. The WAC Tournament will begin March 11 in Las Vegas.

NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osbun told Sporting News on Monday that the association is moving forward with preparations for its winter and spring championships, including the NCAA Tournament, while it monitors the potential spread of coronavirus.

The COVID-19 virus, which has been traced to Wuhan, China, has affected other sports leagues and organizations worldwide.

Italy's top soccer league, Serie A, may be suspended for a month as the country deals with an outbreak, it was reported Tuesday. The Italian Cup semifinal match Wednesday between Juventus and AC Milan has also been postponed. Thursday's semifinal between Napoli and Inter Milan in Naples is still on. Serie A has postponed 10 league matches over the past two weekends, The Associated Press noted.

England's Premier League is deliberating whether to bar spectators from matches if conditions worsen. Matches in Switzerland's top flight have been suspended until March 23, according to the BBC.

The International Olympic Committee insisted Tuesday (per The Washington Post) that the Summer Games in Tokyo will begin in July as scheduled. Japan's Olympics minister raised the possibility of a postponement during a meeting with Parliament.

In the U.S., the NBA reportedly sent a memo to teams instructing players not to high-five fans in arenas but fist-bump them instead. MLB is making similar requests; it told teams in a memo (per ESPN.com) that players should not accept pens and balls directly from fans while signing autographs, and to refrain from handshakes. MLB has no plans at the moment to postpone games but it reportedly is setting up a task force to monitor virus developments. Opening Day is March 26.

An NFL spokesperson told NFL.com on Tuesday that the league is "closely monitoring developments" related to COVID-19. Pro days for draft prospects are starting this week, and the NFL Draft is scheduled to begin April 23 in Las Vegas.

There were concerns in February that the NHL might experience a stick shortage because of the effect of the virus on manufacturing in China.

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.