NBA, Raptors Players Permitted to Cross Border into U.S.
NBA players currently residing in Canada or internationally have been granted permission to cross into the United States as the NBA heads toward a return this season, The Athletic's Shams Charania reports.
The Canadian-United States border has been closed since March 21 when the countries mutually agreed to limit travel to only essential health care personnel and those crucial to international trade.
The new report, confirmed by The New York Times' Marc Stein, will reportedly allow any players living outside of the United States to return to the United States with the blessing of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This would allow for the approximately 50% of the Raptors roster in Canada to travel to the United States as the season nears its return.
Though it's currently unclear if players based in the United States can cross the border into Canada, Sportsnet's Michael Grange reported last week that the Raptors are considering moving their training camp to an American city with looser stay-at-home restrictions.
While this news certainly has the biggest impact for the Raptors, there are Canadians throughout the NBA that have returned home during the NBA's hiatus and will use this clearance to return to their teams next month.
The NBA will reportedly release new guidelines allowing players to return to their respective team cities around June 1, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe.
Aaron Rose covers the Toronto Raptors and Canadian basketball for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter @aaronbenrose or on Facebook @AllRaptors.
