Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire investor, called the National Basketball Association’s plan to restart his season on July 30 at Walt Disney World in Orlando a “great psychological experiment” in a CNBC “Squawk Box” interview. ” Monday. He also said that the NBA is better prepared to restart the game than the National Soccer League.
The NBA, which was the first major sports league in the United States to suspend its season in March due to concerns about the coronavirus, is creating a “bubble” campus for 22 teams in Florida. The plan depends on frequent testing for coronavirus and mass quarantine in one place.
The players are “adjusting well” and “getting along” so far, according to Cuban, who said he could only talk about the Mavericks situation. He said that players wear masks and follow established protocols.
The NBA has the “advantage” over the NFL, which is preparing to start training camps for its 2020 regular season, Cuban said. Under the modified reboot protocol, NBA teams can bring 15 to 17 players to Orlando, compared to NFL teams, which have more than 50 players plus larger staff. The NFL has no plans to hold games in a bubble like the NBA. Instead, the games will be played at each team’s stadium.
“We have a location, we can keep everything under control,” Cuban said.
In contrast, he said that the one-place quarantine type would be “very difficult” for the NFL and has not heard that the NFL is considering such a plan at all. NFL stars like Russell Wilson and JJ Watt recently voiced concerns about the league’s health and safety plans for the players and their families.
While sports may be an escape for Americans, his return could also provide us with applicable lessons.
“If people in the real world outside of the NBA follow masking protocols in the same way that NBA players do, we would already be dealing with this virus and we would be way ahead of where we are now,” Cuban said.
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