Details of President Trump's Call With Major Sports League Commissioners Are Nice But Don't Help Fans at All
President Donald Trump held a conference call Saturday with the commissioners of every major sports league in the country -- and yes, the WWE was included as well, for whatever reason.
Fans of all sports were hoping this call would shed some light on a timeframe for the potential resumption of games, and they certain feared that a total and permanent shutdown would be announced. While it was nice of the president to take time to focus on sports, the call itself did not give us many answers, and featured a lot of assumptions on his part.
Donald Trump also told commissioners that he hopes to have fans back in stadiums and arenas by August and September, sources said, though it is currently unclear if medical experts find that to be a realistic timeline amid the current coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/EFqDryGlTQ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 4, 2020
The first major point is that Trump said he hopes to have fans back in attendance by August and September. That doesn't mean games can't be played without fans before then, but it is still a bummer for anyone wanting to attend a game and begin some sort of normalcy in the next few months.
Of course, there's no guarantee that even his hopeful timeline will be possible.
Per White House: "The President recognized the good work being done by many teams and players to care for their communities, workforces & fan bases across the Nation. The commissioners thanked President Trump for his national leadership & for his interest in the sports industry."
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) April 4, 2020
President Trump also believes the NFL season should start on time. That provides some hope, but yet again there is no proof of that being a realistic possibility. Coming up with a timeline for the fall is just not possible.
It is still only April so NFL fans in particular have some time to figure out what will happen with the 2020 season. MLB and NBA fans, along with fans of every other major sport in the country, are still in the dark as to when anything could resume. The answers everyone was hoping for didn't come from this call, and may not be revealed for quite some time.
Instead, Trump mostly thanked sports leagues for doing their part in the relief efforts. Very kind, but very little was resolved here.