Pro sports may cut access to locker room because of coronavirus

The efforts to combat the global COVID-19 outbreak certainly have reached the sporting world.

For instance, on Saturday, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced it was canceling this month’s Women’s World Championships in Nova Scotia. It’s the seventh international event the IIHF has canceled out of concern for the spreading coronavirus.

And while the NHL has yet to mandate that its dressing rooms be closed to the media as a precautionary procedure, each team is being asked to decide its own policy in that regard.

The Islanders announced during Saturday afternoon’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Hurricanes at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum that the dressing rooms would be closed to the media. The postgame player interviews were conducted as scrums outside the Islanders’ room while coach Barry Trotz conducted his usual postgame news conference.

“We will, starting tonight, proact to what we’re all going through to try and prevent as much potential associations with anybody who somehow contracted something,” Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said. “We cannot control the amount of press that go in the room who have credentials, who come from everywhere. It’d be different if we knew the people.

“What the league has done is given us many materials as far as what to do to prevent,” Lamoriello added. “What we have to do in our locker room, what we have to do around everything we do.”

The Rangers announced before Saturday night’s game against the Devils at Madison Square Garden that their dressing rooms also would be closed to the media.

This comes amid a USA TODAY report that the NBA sent a memo to its 30 teams on Friday regarding the need to prepare for possibly playing games behind closed doors without fans attending. The speculation on the topic led the Lakers’ LeBron James to declare he wouldn’t play if fans weren’t in the stands.

The NBA also is mulling its options for media access.

“In consultation with infectious disease and public health experts, we’re discussing with other sports leagues options to protect the health of everyone in our buildings, including those typically in our locker rooms,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “As always, we’re committed to providing appropriate media access.”

Major League Baseball opens its season later this month, so the coronavirus outbreak certainly could impact its operations.

“We are undertaking many precautions currently,” MLB said in a statement. “For example, we are asking anyone — including media — who has visited a high-risk area as defined by the CDC [Centers for Disease Control] within the last 14 days not to visit our facilities. We are also discussing additional measures internally and with other leagues. At this time, we have not made changes to our media access procedures and we will advise if we determine to take such steps.”

NFL training camps open in July, with preseason games starting in August, so that league has more time to formulate a policy.

“We are closely monitoring developments and have been in contact with The World Health Organization, CDC and the NFL-NFLPA medical experts at the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network Program for Infection Prevention,” the NFL said in a statement. “We will continue those discussions throughout our offseason.”

Internationally, Saturday’s game between Strasbourg and Paris Saint-Germain in the French soccer league was postponed. Players from Liverpool and Bournemouth were the first in the English Premier League to go without pregame handshakes.

British sporting events soon could be held without spectators, with a meeting between sports officials and the government set to take place on Monday. A full slate of Serie A soccer games in Italy, which has Europe’s largest number of virus cases, will be played Sunday in empty stadiums.

In a rare case of an elite athlete being directly affected by the outbreak, Saturday’s Six Nations women’s rugby game between Scotland and France was postponed after a Scottish play- er was diagnosed with the virus.

The Russian national women’s football team is facing quarantine after playing a game in Germany amid the escalating COVID-19 outbreak.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said this past week that the league will take a “day-by-day” approach to the coronavirus outbreak.

On Thursday, the Santa Clara (California) County Public Health Department recommended “mass gatherings and large community events” either be postponed or canceled. Nonetheless, the San Jose Sharks played Friday night against the Minnesota Wild.

Trotz said he hasn’t given too much thought to potentially playing games without fans in the arena.

“It’s not in our hands,” he said. “We’re just worried about playing, if there’s people in the stands or not.

“If you don’t know what’s going on, then you better turn the TV on or read a newspaper or get online because it’s everywhere,” Trotz added. “I think everyone has a good understanding of it, or at least a basic understanding of it.”

The Islanders’ Scott Mayfield described it as “weird” having to stand outside the team’s dressing room to address the media.

“A little scary, I guess,” Mayfield said. “Just trying to be sanitary, be safe. Wash your hands. Hopefully everyone is doing that.”

Added teammate Brock Nelson, “It’s pretty serious stuff. We can’t take anything lightly. Hopefully everybody stays healthy and we can figure out a way to get through it.”

Lamoriello said it is unclear what further measures might be undertaken.

“You’ll see them as they’re done,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can, whether it’s constant disinfecting or cleaning. Which we’re all doing at home.”

With David Lennon, Barbara Barker, Bob Glauber,

Steve Popper and AP

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.