The emotional impact of the coronavirus pandemic appears to have hit NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who reportedly began crying during a conference call with players.
The conference call with the players was “intense” and “at one point Adam Silver was crying” but everyone grew closer and a big lesson was learned
— Daman Rangoola (@damanr) May 8, 2020
Silver and the players continue to chart a path to complete the 2019-20 season that was abruptly suspended by Silver on March 11. That action came in the wake of Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert becoming the first NBA player to be diagnosed with the contagious virus.
Exactly what sparked Silver’s apparent display of emotion is unknown, but it’s clear that the continuing effect of the pandemic has affected all facets of society.
The rising death toll in the United States and around the world has skyrocketed since Silver’s action was first made, with the devastating financial impact from tens of millions of lost jobs affecting countless families.
Some teams have slowly begun to start practicing again, though under limits regarding the number of people allowed within a team’s facility. Those rules have been dependent upon the specific states of those teams, with a variety of different edicts currently in place.
The NBA continues to consider all avenues toward concluding the season, with the most likely scenario involving playing in games in a central facility.
Some reports have mentioned Las Vegas as a place to play games, while Walt Disney World Resort facilities in Florida have also been taken under consideration.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the teams that’s keenly interested in what will take place, considering that they had the best record in the Western Conference at 49-14 at the time of the shutdown.
Given the dwindling amount of time left to make a final decision, it’s expected that Silver will announce the league’s plans in the near future.
