
Augusto Casasoli/Xinhua // Getty Images
1 / 37Feb. 23, 2020: Italy鈥檚 Serie A suspends matches
Four Sunday as the virus spread in Northern Italy. Two matches were held as planned in Genoa and Rome.

The stark reality of the world and its sports, both battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, is well known by now. Shutdowns, isolation, quarantine, stay-at-home orders, astonishing unemployment, and historic casualties have consumed the day聽for five months as of May 2020.
In December 2019, . By January, the first related death had been reported, and cases had reached other nations including the United States. The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency.
Sports fans have witnessed a parallel unimaginable series of events since then, as international leagues, college championships, and Opening Days have fallen victim to suspensions and postponements. The ramifications of this novel coronavirus are nor the first instance in which a pandemic has been the culprit.聽
But how exactly did we go from the Chiefs' Feb. 2 Super Bowl LIV victory to the first virtual NFL draft on April 23? How did the sports shutdown progress from the Premier League prohibiting handshakes before games in early March to the absence of nearly all major worldwide leagues by April? 爆料TV dug through dozens of news sources, press releases, and sound bites to create the following timeline, from when European and American sports first suspended play to the first moments they announced optimistic resumption plans.
We begin in late February, when the first Italian soccer games paused and the government stepped in. And we transition to mid-March, when American basketball started to adjust on the fly鈥攁 chaotic 24 hours in which NCAA conference tournaments ended at halftime of noon games, and an NBA team doctor made a cinematic sprint from the locker room to the court seconds before tipoff to relay a positive test and cancel the game. But, as we hope with the current pandemic, this timeline ends on a good note, as several leagues have confirmed their restarts. Most recently, on June 4, the NBA finally announced its return when the Board of Governors approved a plan to resume at the end of July.
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1 / 37Four Sunday as the virus spread in Northern Italy. Two matches were held as planned in Genoa and Rome.
Matteo Ciambelli/NurPhoto // Getty Images
2 / 37Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora suggested to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte that, instead of postponing more games, . Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago called the closed-door concept ''problematic'' the day before.
Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos // Getty Images
3 / 37Amid growing U.S. case counts, the National College Players Association regarding the NCAA men鈥檚 tournament and protecting student-athletes, calling for 鈥渁 serious discussion about holding competitions without an audience present.鈥�
[Pictured: The Virginia Cavaliers' Kyle Guy grabs a rebound against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship Game]
Ethan Miller // Getty Images
4 / 37According to , the NBA and its Players Association鈥攈aving consulted with the CDC鈥攔ecommend fist-bumps instead of high-fives and to avoid objects and pens exchanged with fans for autographs. The Miami Heat鈥檚 Jimmy Butler told reporters, "I don't think about any of that. I'm still going to be who I am. We're still going to be who we are."
[Pictured: Bill Walton (L) and Ted Robinson talk before broadcasting a first-round game of the 2016 Pac-12 Basketball Tournament between the UCLA Bruins and the USC Trojans]
Emilio Andreoli // Getty Images
5 / 37The Italian government that Serie A would continue behind closed doors for one month. They hoped to stop the spread as the country remained an epicenter of the outbreak.
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6 / 37Part of the 鈥渢raditional walk-out protocol鈥� prior to each Premier League match, fair-play handshakes between players and officials are customary. The banning the gesture 鈥渇or health reasons,鈥� since the virus 鈥渃an be transmitted on to the hands and passed on via a handshake.鈥�
Harry How // Getty Images
7 / 37As the and the U.S. death toll reached 16, the NBA prepped its players for games in empty arenas, according to . Following the Lakers鈥揃ucks game, LeBron James told reporters, 鈥淚 ain鈥檛 playing if I ain鈥檛 got the fans in the crowd. That鈥檚 who I play for.鈥�
Claudio Villa/Inter // Getty Images
8 / 37Following the government鈥檚 orders, Juventus and Inter Milan played the first non-Chinese game without fans. Juve鈥檚 win put them atop the Serie A table.
Stephanie Meek/CameraSport // Getty Images
9 / 37Arsenal played Olympiacos in the Europa League on Feb. 27. After the Greek side鈥檚 owner tested positive, Arsenal instituted 14-day self-isolation guidelines, postponing their March 11 Premier League match with Manchester City. , telling reporters, "I had no idea there was a conversation going on behind closed doors about the particular virus. I would be very disappointed [with no fans] because that's [who] I play for."
[Pictured: Arsenal FC and Olympiacos FC's Europa League round-of-32 second leg at Emirates Stadium on Feb. 27, 2020]
julien mattia/Anadolu Agency // Getty Images
10 / 37Midday on March 11, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a By 2 p.m., ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Golden State Warriors planned to play 聽without fans. An hour later, the first Champions League match without fans between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund. Later that afternoon, the NCAA announced .
[Pictured: Fans of Paris Saint-Germain in front of the Parc des Princes for a Champions League match聽against Borussia Dortmund on March 11, 2020.]
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Omar Rawlings // Getty Images
11 / 37Shortly before 9:30 p.m., that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. The Jazz鈥揟hunder game had been abruptly canceled as players walked on the court for tipoff; a team doctor had rushed from the locker room to deliver news. At 9:31 p.m. NBC Chicago鈥檚 K.C. Johnson tweeted that the 鈥渦ntil further notice.鈥�
Elsa // Getty Images
12 / 37Around 10:30 a.m., the ATP suspending the men鈥檚 tour for six weeks. An hour later, Major League Soccer announced a聽.
[Pictured: James Sands #16 of New York City FC]
Patrick Smith // Getty Images
13 / 37Just before noon, the its men鈥檚 basketball conference championship. By 12:40 p.m., the , , , and had all followed suit. The its scheduled games for the following week. The shortly after 1:30 p.m.
[Pictured: Capital One Arena on March 12, 2020, in Washington聽D.C.]
Ezra Shaw // Getty Images
14 / 37By 3 p.m., spring training and postponed Opening Day by two weeks. An hour later, the NCAA finally on the 2020 men鈥檚 tournament; it additionally shut down college winter and spring championships.
[Pictured: An aerial view of the San Francisco Giants' Oracle Park on March 12, 2020]
Sam Greenwood // Getty Images
15 / 37The XFL, still in the infancy of its 2020 rebirth, at 7:15 p.m. At 10 p.m., following the conclusion of Round 1 of the Players Championship鈥攃onsidered golf's fifth major鈥攖he the remainder of the weekend in addition to all tournaments through the April 2鈥�5 Valero Texas Open.
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FRANCK FIFE/AFP // Getty Image
16 / 37At 7:05 a.m., the official Premier League twitter account with the FA, EFL, and WSL to suspend all play in England. A half-hour later, .
[Pictured: The headquarters of the French Football Federation in Paris]
Lars Baron // Getty Images
17 / 37As many Americans were still finishing their coffee, the . One hour later, play. In a late-afternoon press conference, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency.
[Pictured: A sign at Signal Iduna Park marks the way to a coronavirus care facility at the north stand聽on April 3, 2020, in Dortmund, Germany.]
Ethan Miller // Getty Images
18 / 37The to ESPN the indefinite closure of its sportsbook and poker room, the first Nevada casino to do so.
Mauricio Salas/Jam Media // Getty Images
19 / 37The CDC for canceling gatherings of 50 or more people. Mexico鈥檚 top-flight soccer league, Liga MX, of games following the evening鈥檚 schedule.
[Pictured: A sculpture among empty seats prior to the Liga MX match between America and Cruz Azul on March 15, 2020, in Mexico City.]
Elliott Brown/E and P Phtography // Getty Images
20 / 37With the 2020 NFL Draft just over a month away, commissioner all in-person events in Vegas (where it was to be staged) but confirmed that the original dates would be televised. UFC president Dana White , and races through May 3.
[Pictured: The Maryland Terrapins' Antoine Brooks Jr. celebrates being drafted in the sixth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers on April 25, 2020, at home in Lanham, Maryland.]
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21-- --> / 37The 2020 Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the horse racing Triple Crown, was . Consequently, the second-leg Preakness Stakes, which is run two weeks after the Derby, was postponed.
OLI SCARFF/AFP // Getty Images
22 / 37UEFA, the governing body for European soccer, officially by a full year. Two hours later, Roland-Garros to move tennis鈥� second major, the French Open, from late May to late September. In the evening, the the season鈥檚 second major, the PGA Championship.
[Pictured: A sign advertising the now-postponed Euro 2020 football tournament聽outside a closed-down pub in York in northern England on March 30, 2020]
Natalia Fedosenko\TASS // Getty Images
23 / 37Of the 55 UEFA members, the was the only remaining top-flight competition by March 19, beginning its season that day. That morning, from a March 30 end date to May 10.
Thomas Campbell/XFL // Getty Images
24 / 37Eight days after pressing pause on its season, the altogether, with plans to resume in 2021.
[Pictured: James Butler #28 of the Houston Roughnecks carries the ball聽against the Seattle Dragons at TDECU Stadium on March 7, 2020, in Houston]
VISIONHAUS // Getty Images
25 / 37UEFA the May dates for both the Champions League and Europa League (the next tier) Finals.
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26 / 37In the morning on March 24, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee jointly to postpone the Summer Olympics to 2021.
[Pictured: International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, speaks during an interview after the historic decision to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, in Lausanne, Switzerland, on March 25, 2020.]
Andrew Redington // Getty Images
27 / 37Late in the evening of March 26, the the United States Golf Association鈥檚 plan to postpone the season鈥檚 third major, the U.S. Open, from June. The event was last canceled during World War II in 1945.
Andrew Redington // Getty Images
28 / 37Wimbledon 2020 became the first edition canceled since WWII. All England Lawn Tennis Club chair Ian Hewitt to 鈥渋nstead concentrate on how we can use the breadth of Wimbledon's resources to help those in our local communities and beyond.鈥� The same day, the ATP and WTA of play through July 13.
Brian Ach // Getty Images
29 / 37For the first time in its history, WrestleMania was without fans and broadcast on delay over two days. The and social interaction records.
[Pictured: Braun Strowman tosses Colin Jost of "SNL" out of the ring during聽a聽WWE WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium on April 7, 2019, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. ]
Gareth Fuller/PA Images // Getty Images
30 / 37According to a Goodell informed the league that the 2020 draft would take place virtually and remotely. The for the first time since WWII, meaning just three majors will be contested.
[Pictured: A view of the clubhouse at Royal St George's, in Sandwich, Kent, where the Open Championship will be held in 2021.]
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Leonard Ortiz/Digital First Media/Orange County Register // Getty Images
31 / 37With the April 13 edition of , the company resumed live broadcasts from a performance center behind closed doors. The event followed weeks of pre-taped broadcasts.
[Pictured: Thousands pack the Honda Center on Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, to watch the WWE Monday Night Raw live broadcast.]
Ben Jared/PGA TOUR // Getty Images
32 / 37The its updated, modified schedule to begin June 11 when the Charles Schwab Challenge commences from Fort Worth. Though still subject to change, the new season added 14 events, bringing the season total to 36. Originally, 49 events were scheduled for 2019鈥�20.
[Pictured: Mackenzie Hughes of Canada hits a shot on the 16th tee during the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club on May 26, 2019, in Fort Worth, Texas. ]
NFL // Getty Images
33 / 37The 2020 NFL Draft, held remotely for the first time, drew a record , according to Nielsen. Goodell read picks from his Bronxville, New York, home, and players and teams videoconferenced in.
[Pictured:聽NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks from his home]
Chris Graythen // Getty Images
34 / 37Little League International for the first time, having been contested from South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, every summer since 1947. The same day, to resume a modified schedule on May 17, but with only essential staff and limited teams.
[Pictured: Joey Logano crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 8, 2020]
Christian Verheyen/Borussia Moenchengladbach // Getty Images
35 / 37On May 6, the , becoming the first major European soccer league to resume. Hoping to finish by June 30, the league has just nine matchdays left on the schedule and will play without fans until the Aug. 31 ban on mass gatherings lifts in Germany.
[Pictured: Borussia M枚nchengladbach supporters can buy聽cardboard characters to be displayed at the stadium should the Bundesliga continue with matches played behind closed doors.]
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Jared Wickerham // Getty Images
36 / 37On May 28, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced that the聽鈥攚ould be canceled for the first time in its 124-year history, citing public health concerns. The marathon, which was originally scheduled for Patriots Day on April 20, had already been rescheduled for Sept. 14th. On average, 30,000 runners from around the world participate in the event.聽
[Pictured: Boston Marathon runners cross the finish line on Boylston Street, in Boston, Massachusetts.]聽
Katelyn Mulcahy // Getty Images
37 / 37After a layoff since abruptly stopping play on March 11, the NBA will return in July. Per , the league鈥檚 Board of Governors voted to approve a 22-team resumption format鈥攎ini eight-game schedules followed by postseason鈥攊n Orlando from July 31鈥揙ct. 12. The 22 include the existing 16 teams in postseason position of the eighth seed鈥攖hus providing a chance for bubble teams to qualify.
[Pictured:聽LeBron James聽stands on the court in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers聽at the Staples Center on March 3, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.]聽


