The increasing spread of COVID-19 was officially deemed a “pandemic” by the World Health Organization on Wednesday, and the crisis continues to affect many worldwide. Employees are being asked to work from home, schools are being closed for the near future, and it seems every aspect of daily life has been stirred. 

The NBA is not exempt from responding to the rising coronavirus crisis, and a significant response came from the league with the announcement that the Golden State Warriors would be playing their home games, starting tomorrow night, with closed doors to the fans.

The move comes in consultation with the City and County of San Francisco after they announced earlier in the day that gatherings of 1,000 people or more would be banned, including Warriors games, per the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Via an official statement released on the matter by the Warriors: beginning with Thursday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, Chase Center will tip-off without fans in the seats. In addition to Warriors games, all events at Chase Center, including concerts, will be canceled or postponed through March 21st. 

The statement also iterated that fans who purchased tickets to any of Golden State’s two home games during the stretch will receive a refund in the full amount paid. In addition, anyone that purchased tickets to a concert or respective Chase Center event will be notified regarding a refund or exchange for another scheduled event in the future. 

The move was a significant, albeit expected move by the league in response to the growing concern of COVID-19. The NBA is not the first professional sports league to institute this type of change as a response; playing games in empty stadiums. Soccer leagues worldwide are playing matches in closed doors, and in instances such as Italy’s Serie A, league-play and all other sports have been halted entirely. 

In the aftermath of the announcement, the Warriors held a press conference with Team President Rick Welts, President of Basketball Operations Bob Myers, and Head Coach Steve Kerr, with each giving their thoughts on the resulting move. 

Welts mentioned that there have not been discussions regarding cancellation of future games, but the move cannot be ruled out. Game night logistics, such as the recording of stats, PA announcers, and arena music are still being figured out. Off the bat, the financial implications are apparent, and Rick Welts was asked on the matter. 

“Tens of millions of dollars…” Welts responded in regards to the financial loss for the organization. As a result, it should have significant future salary cap implications. “Our player compensation system is related to basketball-related income. This will affect basketball-related income.”

On playing without fans in the stands, Stephen Curry said, “It will be different. It will be weird… We have jobs to do. As long as there are games to be played, we’re going to play them.”

Bob Myers reiterated the impact of the decision, “The answer is (it will have an impact). To what degree, we don’t know.” 

“No matter what you do, who you are, your daily life is going to be affected by this,” Steve Kerr said when responding to the media. Kerr says he is thinking about all the part-time workers who won’t be able to still earn a paycheck during this time: “There are much bigger issues at hand. I’m thinking about our ushers, vendors...”

As Kerr emphasized, the impact the move has on part-time employees is significant, and specifically those that don’t suit up on the court for a living. 

Myers expressed his empathy for those individuals, saying that the Warriors’ players were somber in hearing about the move, but the right response is to highlight how the growing crisis impacts other low-income workers.

The Warriors may have been the first NBA team to make this move, but they may not be the only team closing its doors during this heightened crisis. It’s important to keep all those impacted by this pandemic in your thoughts and recognize the larger influence. Not just the NBA players themselves, but everyone impacted throughout the NBA, and of course outside it. 

As Bob Myers emphasized: “If you’re going to have empathy, have it for them, not for us.”