World (AFP)
The scenario envisaged by the NBA to resume the season in a "bubble", a giant confined area where teams would be grouped to limit the risks linked to the coronavirus, was greeted with skepticism by the players, reports ESPN Friday.
If the idea of departure - a "bubble" in which the players, separated from their families, would go back and forth just to train and play the matches in a hotel -, first received support in principle, it took lead in the wing when the question of surveillance of the site arose.
"When we raised the issue for the first time, there was some dismay," said director general of the players' union (NBPA), Michele Roberts, for whom "the prospect of having to hire security personnel armed around the hotel is like incarceration. "
Without any guarantee that their "bubble" would be impenetrable, "the players said to themselves + well, I don't know if it's worth it to be away from my family for so long," continued the manager.
"We could do all of this, and what happens when one or two or 10 players test positive after 28 days of isolation? Can we stop everything?" Michele Roberts.
For several weeks, the NBA has been working on the feasibility of organizing the entire end of the season in a single location. Las Vegas and Disney World in Orlando are tracks regularly mentioned by the press.
This Friday, as the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers reopen their facilities for individual training, instance boss Adam Silver and Michele Roberts are scheduled to participate in a conference call with the players, to discuss issues surrounding '' a possible resumption of the season suspended since March 11, date of the positive test of the French Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz).
According to Michele Roberts, teams seem increasingly resigned to the fact that replaying this year will involve risks as long as the Covid-19 pandemic continues.
"We have to find a way to work, play and live in a world with the virus. The questions have evolved: after + are we going to play again? +, We wonder + if we play, what are the risks? + ", she said.
© 2020 AFP