Report: NBA Considering Limiting Locker Room Access Due to Coronavirus Fears

The NBA is considering limiting locker room access to only players and team personnel due to concerns over the coronavirus, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. 

The league would set up another space for the media to conduct interviews, reports Charania.

On Friday, the NBA reportedly sent a memo to teams explaining that they should be preparing to play games without fans in attendance as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Per The New York Times' Marc Stein, they alerted teams to put together contingency plans in case "it were to become necessary to play a game with only essential staff present."

The NHL is planning to close locker room access to the media and instead hold interviews in formal press conference areas, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan. The league has also considered postponing or canceling games or holding them in empty arenas if necessary.

“I don’t want to create any speculation or hysteria,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “There are obviously a variety of consequences that we may have to focus on and we’ll do that in the appropriate time, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, OK? We’re staying on top of it. We’re in constant communication with our clubs and the players association and we’re going to deal with this in as thorough, professional, on-top-of-it manner as possible. Let’s everybody take a deep breath.”

The coronavirus outbreak has impacted sporting events around the globe in recent weeks. A list of contests being played without fans include the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III tournament at John Hopkins, preseason Nippon Professional Baseball, South Korean Basketball games and Serie A soccer matches, among countless others.

Earlier this week, the NBA sent an initial memo with recommendations for how to handle the virus. In that memo, the league advised players to "utilize fist-bumps over high-fives with fans." Players were also advised to not touch pens, balls and jerseys presented by fans for autographs.

There are now more than 100,000 cases of the coronavirus worldwide in at least 83 different counties, including more than 300 confirmed cases in the United States. The death toll stemming from the virus has surpassed 3,400.

The virus, also known as COVID-19, originated in Wuhan, China, late last year and quickly spread across the world. The illness affects the respiratory tract and can be transmitted through coughing, sneezing and contact with those infected. Symptoms include fever, coughing and difficulty breathing.