Steve Kerr Says Team USA Coaches Still Plan on Tokyo Olympics Amid Coronavirus

Team USA men's basketball's coaching staff is still preparing as if the 2020 Summer Olympics, which are scheduled to begin in Tokyo on July 24, will happen in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who is an assistant under Team USA head coach (and San Antonio Spurs leader) Gregg Popovich, noted the following to reporters Tuesday in a conference call (h/t Nick Friedell of ESPN):

"Pop and I have spoken a couple of times over the last week or so. And everything's just up in the air. There's no sense of whether things are going to be delayed or anything. We're all kind of sitting here wondering what's going to happen, and so is the rest of the world. We're just going to plan as if this is going to happen, and we're going to try and put together a roster, and that's all we can do."

Sports worldwide have largely shut down in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with all five major European soccer leagues, the NBA, NHL and MLB suspending operations, among others.

However, the 2020 Summer Games aren't off the table at the moment.

"The IOC remains fully committed to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and with more than four months to go before the Games, there is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage; and any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive," the International Olympic Committee stated Tuesday.

That decision has not come without criticism. International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission member Hayley Wickenheiser wrote the following in part on Twitter (h/t Tom Schad of USA Today):

"I think the IOC insisting this will move ahead, with such conviction, is insensitive and irresponsible given the state of humanity. We don't know what's happening in the next 24 hours, let alone in the next three months.

"Should the Olympics be canceled? No one knows at this point and that IS my point. To say for certain they will go ahead is an injustice to the athletes training and global population at large. We need to acknowledge the unknown."

The Games are scheduled to run through August 9.

Per CNN.com, there were more than 173,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus worldwide as of 4:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday. More than 7,000 people have died.