NBPA Leadership Reportedly Believes Fans Won't Be Allowed for 2020-21 Season

National Basketball Players Association leadership told a group of 80-plus players on a call Friday that they do not believe fans will be allowed to attend games during the 2020-21 NBA season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The 2019-20 campaign has been on hiatus since March. The NBA made plans to resume the season at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex just outside of Orlando, Florida, on July 30.

According to the World Health Organization, over 1.98 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the United States, and over 112,800 people have died. 

Per Kathleen Doheny of WebMD, "Optimistic experts hope that a viable vaccine may be ready by the end of 2020" for the new coronavirus, but others think that timeline may be unrealistic. Holly Yan of CNN.com reported earlier this week that "the target is sometime in early 2021."   

While Friday's call touched on concerns about playing amid the pandemic, Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported the meeting "focused on the role players could play in combating systemic racism, investing in black communities and sticking together through this process." 

Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving was reportedly a prominent voice on the call. 

"I don't support going into Orlando," Irving said, per Charania. "I'm not with the systematic racism and the bulls--t. … Something smells a little fishy. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are targeted as black men every day we wake up."

Haynes added that while Irving isn't in favor of the season restarting in Orlando, he plans to back the players if they ultimately agree to move forward with the proposal put forth by the league.