NBA Players Have Every Right to Question Orlando Plan as Florida COVID-19 Cases Spike

Earlier this month, reports indicated that the NBA will resume its season in the form of a 22-team return-to-play plan, emanating from Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. Initially, it seemed as though the league and players union overwhelming agreed to the plan, but now, there have been some reports of pessimism as the date draws closer.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday, 40 to 50 players expressed their concerns about restarting the season in Orlando during conference calls this week. Those individuals have every right to be skeptical, especially when you look at the recent spike in coronavirus cases in the state of Florida.

Will NBA players be insulated? Of course. But the environment is getting worse, and no one in Florida's government seems to care.

Florida, like Texas, began reopening their state at a rapid rate, despite the pleas from national health officials to take things slowly. Ever since, new COVID-19 cases have fluctuated from as low as 379 cases on May 27 to a peak of 1,419 on June 4. As of this writing, the case count in the Sunshine State has reached a total of 64,904 cases and 2,712 deaths since the pandemic hit the country.

We don't blame these select NBA players for being nervous.

Once players step foot in Disney World, they won't be able to leave without undergoing a 10-day quarantine. Additionally, they won't be able to have visits from family members until the end of the first round of the playoffs, which will be nearly two months after the start of training camp on July 10.

Is all of this really worth it for an NBA athlete not on a championship-contending team? No. If those specific players want no part in the return-to-play plan, we don't blame them at all for refusing to play and receive their paychecks for the remainder of the season. The risk is just too high.