Coronavirus: Here's what's happening in the sports world on Monday
Spanish soccer players gearing up for return to practice
The latest on how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting sports around the globe:
- Louisville Slugger shutters factory, furloughs staff
- Soccer players struggling with mental health, global union says
- Marlins CEO Derek Jeter reportedly relinquishing salary during pandemic
- Owners of NFL's Vikings give over $5M US to virus-related causes
- Rugby Australia players accept pay cut
- NFL, Players Coalition donating millions
Spain reaches deal to return to soccer practice
The Spanish government says it has reached a deal with the country's soccer league and federation for teams to return to practice.
The government has not provided a timetable or given any other detail about when practice would resume. It says it will depend on the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic and on decisions by health authorities.
The government says strict protocols will have to be followed when teams begin training again. The Spanish league and the federation have created health protocols for the return to training.
The league says the competition is not expected to resume until the end of May at the earliest and games will be in empty stadiums at first.
The government says the league and federation have agreed to use part of the money from soccer television rights to help other sports in Spain. It says they will also create a contingency fund of 10 million euros ($10.8 million US) to aid more vulnerable athletes.
Louisville Slugger bat maker closes factory
The company that makes Louisville Slugger wood baseball bats has closed its factory, furloughed 90 per cent of its employees and shut its popular museum.
Hillerich & Bradsby Co. says it has continued to cover all health care benefits for its 171 furloughed workers. The remaining 10 per cent of employees have taken 25 per cent pay cuts.
The wood bat factory closed on March 19, three days after the Louisville Slugger Museum shut. The 120-foot bat outside its headquarters now a banner across the barrel reading "Flatten the Curve."
The 165-year-old company produces about two million wood Louisville Slugger bats a year at its downtown Louisville plant, with around 50,000 going to Major League Baseball.
Concern for soccer players' mental health
Socially isolated, cut off from their teammates. Worried about when they will play again. Concerned about their finances and the future of their sport.
The global union for soccer players has found its members are struggling with increased levels of anxiety and depression during the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down most leagues.
As clubs focus on keeping players fit during national lockdowns and faced with cost-cutting needs, FIFPRO is urging them not to neglect providing mental health provisions.
Reinforcing the need for clinical psychologists or psychiatrists to be made available to players is a survey led by FIFPRO of 1,602 professional players in Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States.
It found 22 per cent of female players and 13 per cent of their male counterparts reported depression symptoms when asked in recent weeks, around twice as many as a separate survey with a smaller sample size of 307 players found in December and January.
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter to forgo salary: report
Miami Marlins CEO Derek Jeter told team employees during a conference call Monday he is forgoing his salary during the coronavirus pandemic, a person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press.
The person confirmed Jeter's comments to the AP on condition of anonymity because the Marlins have not commented publicly on the call.
The person said other members of the Marlins' executive team agreed to take pay cuts, while baseball operations personnel will continue to receive their full salaries through at least May 31. The person didn't specify the figures of the pay cuts.
UFC fighter Lyman Good tests positive
UFC welterweight Lyman (Cyborg) Good has tested positive for COVID-19.
Good, a former Bellator champion, pulled out in early April of a planned bout against Belal Muhammad at UFC 249.
"Although I said it was due to an injury, it was actually because I tested positive for the COVID-19," he told ESPN.
Good, a New Yorker who said he had tried to limit his training to avoid the possibility of getting the virus, said fighters are "hard-wired" to battle through injuries.
"Man, there was one day where it was bad ... My body wasn't responding the way it normally does to sparring."
Good, concerned about the safety of his coaches, teammates and family, then got tested and the result was positive. He did it through a drive-through test in New Jersey, a process that took four hours.
Good, whose girlfriend also tested positive, said he has since recovered.
Vikings owners donation tops $5 million US
The family that owns the Minnesota Vikings has increased its donations to COVID-19-related causes to more than $5 million US.
New York and New Jersey residents Zygi, Mark and Lenny Wilf announced Monday the bulk of the money has been earmarked to support health care workers, the elderly, food banks, social service organizations and Jewish philanthropic causes in New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Israel.
Among the organizations receiving help are United Way Worldwide, the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, RWJBarnabas Health, Jewish Federations of North America, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital, Second Harvest Heartland, Minnesota Disaster Recovery Fund for Coronavirus and Vikings.1rmg.com.
"We are focused on trying to provide as many resources as possible to meet their needs and assist some of the most vulnerable populations during this unprecedented time," Vikings owner/chairman Zygi Wilf said. The family made an initial donation of $500,000 last month.
Rugby Australia, players agree on pay cuts
Australia's top rugby players will demand a greater say in the future of the sport after reaching agreement Monday on pay cuts designed to allow the game to weather the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Some players reportedly will give up as much as 60 per cent of their income in the short term as Australian rugby faces uncertainty with major competitions shut down, perhaps for the rest of the year.
The Rugby Union Players' Association announced the agreement with Rugby Australia but stressed it was heavily conditional on players being given greater influence in the sport, which was already under financial strain before the virus outbreak.
RUPA emphasized the importance of transformation as rugby battles a decline in live and television audiences in Australia's competitive broadcasting market. Rugby Australia is currently trying to strike a new broadcasting rights deal, which is central to the financial viability of the sport.
NFL, Players Coalition donating millions
The NFL and the Players Coalition are donating more than $3 million US to seven areas significantly affected by the new coronavirus.
As part of the league's Inspire Change program, a donation of $3,050,000 will be sent to health systems, individual hospitals, and non-profit organizations in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, and impacted regions of Florida and Louisiana.
"We know that during this difficult time, our minority and low-income communities are struggling disproportionately with the impact of COVID-19," said Players Coalition co-founder and former NFL star Anquan Boldin. "Communities in Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore and more are getting hit hard right now, and we want to do our part in ensuring these areas have even the basic needs.
"We are glad we can partner with the NFL to support the organizations who are on the ground providing for these families."
German soccer wouldn't harm healthcare workers
The president of the German soccer federation says resuming league play will not mean taking resources away from healthcare workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Fritz Keller writes in Kicker magazine "we guarantee that resuming play ... will not cause a burden for the healthcare system."
He adds that "there will be no use by sportspeople of testing capacity which would be missed elsewhere."
No top league games have been played since March 11.
The German league has been more bullish than other major European competitions about the chances of resuming in May or June with widespread coronavirus tests for players. That push is partly driven by fears that several clubs face financial collapse without TV and sponsorship money.
Arsenal manager, players taking 12.5 per cent pay cuts
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, his coaches and players have agreed to a 12.5 per cent pay cut for the next year to help the club deal with the financial impact of the coronavirus.
No games have been played in the Premier League for six weeks and the competition is not likely to resume until at least June due to the national lockdown and social distancing.
Arsenal, which has 10 games remaining and is eight points from fourth place as it chases Champions League qualification, says the reduction in annual earnings by the players and coaches will take effect next month.
The club says in a statement that "if we meet specific targets in the seasons ahead, primarily linked to success on the pitch, the club will repay agreed amounts. We will be able to make those repayments as hitting these targets, which the players can directly influence, will mean our financial position will be stronger."
Man City player teaching kids to count in Spanish
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has been using some of his spare time in lockdown to teach British kids how to speak Spanish.
The Argentina international has been signed up by the BBC as part of its home-schooling initiative while educational establishments are closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Aguero is teaching kids how to count in Spanish. His lessons became available on a day kids in Britain would have usually returned to school after the Easter holidays.
Aguero says "it's a tough time for children at the moment, and also for parents trying to keep them focused on their education from home."
Aguero hasn't played a competitive match since March 8 because soccer is shut down in England and across most of the world during the outbreak.
