It’s still early days in this crisis. And in sports, as in life at large, the coronavirus is still managing to outpace the news cycle, the media equivalent of the sub-two-hour marathon. We can scarcely contemplate an NCAA tournament played before no fans, no cheerleaders, and no crying piccolo players… When all of March Madness gets canceled. We are pondering how to shift our viewing habits to outdoor sports like golf, baseball, and NASCAR… only to see those join hoops and hockey on the sidelines.
But one of the more telling episodes so far—again, early days—came on March 9 when Jazz center Rudy Gobert stood before a podium.