University of Missouri-Kansas City Cancels Seattle Trip Due to Coronavirus Fears
The University of Missouri-Kansas City men's basketball team isn't traveling to Seattle for its conference matchup with the Seattle Redhawks on Saturday, the Western Athletic Conference announced Wednesday.
UMKC cited fears over the coronavirus for its decision, and it's the second school to make such a determination after Chicago State canceled its game against Seattle, originally scheduled for Thursday.
WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd issued a statement on the situation:
"While disappointed that the situation has evolved as it has, I fully respect the right of any member institution to determine what it believes to in the best interest of its student-athletes. From a conference standpoint, the necessary adjustments will be made according to NCAA policy in order to bracket the conference tournament scheduled for March 11-14 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas."
The coronavirus has killed 3,200 people worldwide with more than 92,000 confirmed cases.
According to the Seattle Times, health officials in Washington state have diagnosed 28 people with the virus, and the death toll has climbed to 10.
The NCAA announced Tuesday it had set up a panel comprised of "leading medical, public health and epidemiology experts from their respective fields of study and NCAA member schools." The group is tasked with monitoring the spread of COVID-19 to determine any steps required to combat the outbreak.
ESPN's Jeff Passan reported MLB sent a memo to its 30 teams saying it doesn't have any plans to cancel spring training or regular-season games. The memo also included recommendations for players and team personnel in response to the virus.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN, the NBA issued a similar memo to its teams recommending players use fist-bumps with fans and avoid signing autographs and nothing the league is already discussing how the coronavirus could impact the buildup to the 2020 draft on June 25.
