Coronavirus' Impact On Sports (And A USWNT Lawsuit Update)

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the economy, travel and much more. Sports have been no exception: Leagues and organizations have suspended their seasons and tournaments.

This week, Mike Pesca, host of the daily Slate podcast "The Gist," and Shireen Ahmed — Toronto-based sportswriter and co-host of the "Burn It All Down" podcast — join Only A Game's Karen Given to discuss the impact of coronavirus and more.

Highlights From The Conversation:

Karen Given On The Olympics Going Ahead ... For Now:

"[Olympic] organizers say they're in touch with the World Health Organization, and I'm just going to trust that they're listening to people who are more knowledgeable about how diseases spread than I am. ... But I am concerned that they haven't made any sort of public statements about what to do in the meantime because roughly half of the athletes have already qualified — OK, they can probably continue to train without exposing themselves to anything — but the other half of those slots are still up for grabs."

Shireen Ahmed On Rudy Gobert:

"One of the questions that a lot of people were asking was: How is it that Rudy Gobert, who basically poked fun at all of this, was so quickly tested, and that's something that most Americans don't have access to?"

Mike Pesca On The Financial Repercussions Of The Coronavirus On Sports:

"The players ... though they have 'Force Majeure' clauses in their contract — so they don't have to get paid [if there's], say, an act of war or an epidemic — there are good relationships [with] the owners. It seems unlikely that the owners will withhold money.

"The owners themselves: most of their money comes from television contracts, and there might be some various 'make goods' but you could also see ... them and their television partners working together so that no one really loses money.

"The people who would lose money are the per-game workers at the arenas."

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