Sky forward Diamond DeShields is used to her life being dictated by her practice and game schedules.
But that hasn’t been the case the last two months as the sports world has been put on pause because of the coronavirus.
“It’s been drastically different,” said DeShields, who is currently living with family in Atlanta. “It’s not even an exaggeration, this whole situation has impacted everyone’s lives and kind of turned it upside down in a way.”
Seasons have been postponed or canceled, college programs have been cut as part of the financial fallout of the crisis, and many fans have said they wouldn’t feel comfortable attending a sporting event until a vaccine is made available.
“As bad as I want to be out there, I know there’s a global pandemic going on,” DeShields said. “But you can’t help but feel like part of you is missing during this time.”
It’s hard to imagine when and how sports will resume.
The WNBA, which was originally scheduled to start its 24th season Friday, has been weighing its options since March, and with the help of public health experts, has started to lay out the blueprints of what a 2020 season might look like.
Two possible scenarios under consideration include having the season played at one neutral site or in areas that have had limited exposure to the coronavirus, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said last month.
One common thread in the WNBA’s planning is that if it goes through with a season, it’ll most likely be played without fans. Sky owner Michael Alter confirmed that to the Sun-Times last week, saying he was “very, very certain” that would be the case.
With some leagues, like Major League Baseball, proposing plans to return in the near future, DeShields is optimistic that there will be a WNBA season this year. However, she doesn’t see training camps opening without more accessible testing.
“We would get tested a lot,” DeShields said. “On the one hand, it’s nice to know that we would be able to be kept safe in that way, but on the other, there are so many Americans and people who don’t have access to tests, you know? And it’s just a fine line as far as prioritizing the health of everybody.”
One of DeShields’ favorite aspects of the WNBA is the accessibility fans have to the players, who are usually available for selfies and autographs after the games, if not before. But because of how contagious COVID-19 is, those pre- and postgame fan-player interactions won’t be the same until there’s a vaccine, she said.
“I’m not sure how much it’ll change in the long term,” DeShields said. “I do know in the short term it will be drastically different. Like, will we be taking pictures after games? Will we be having meet-and-greets? I don’t think we’re going to be, as players, able to have the same fan engagement for a while, so that’s one thing that I know will be different. But as far as long term when everything is over, I hope things can go back to normal — or, I don’t think things will ever be normal, but I hope the fan experience can improve over time.”