Los Angeles (AFP)
The NBA and the players' union (NBPA) announced Friday that they have definitively activated the plan to resume the season, particularly in terms of safety and health protocols, which will finally take place from July 30 at Disney World (Florida) .
"It's very exciting to officially announce the restart of the 2019-2020 season," said NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts.
The championship, the schedule of which will be announced later this Friday, will resume more than four months after its interruption on March 11, following the announcement of the positive coronavirus test by French Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz).
This concerns 22 out of 30 teams which will first play eight regular season games each, before possible play-offs for 8th place in each conference, the last qualifier for the play-offs. For a final crowning on October 13 at the latest.
If basketball will resume its rights, the league and the players have also agreed to take advantage of this media window to take action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice.
Many players, around 80, have expressed their opposition in recent weeks to replay, believing that the time was for engagement and protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
"We have worked with the players' union to establish a plan that prioritizes health and safety, preserves fairness and provides a platform to resolve social justice issues," said NBA commissioner Adam Silver .
Very strict protocols in terms of screening and social distancing will be implemented by the league. However, this aspect will be more crucial than ever for the smooth running of the season in Florida, where positive cases of the virus have been rocketing for several weeks.
On Thursday, 8,942 people tested positive there, crushing the record record of 5,508 on Tuesday, which brought the total to more than 114,000. If the contaminations are concentrated in the south of the State, the county of Orange where Orlando and Disney World is located has seen 10% of the tests return positive in the last ten days. This is more than double the rates recorded between June 6 and June 15.
© 2020 AFP