Ohio governor proposes no fans at games due to coronavirus. What about March Madness?

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has recommended indoor athletic events in his state occur without spectators in attendance due to the coronavirus outbreak.

His announcement comes a week prior to Dayton hosting the First Four games of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Cleveland will host First and Second Round games of the tournament March 20 and 22.

The Cleveland Cavaliers also have five home games remaining on their schedule this season, including the Los Angeles Lakers coming to town March 26 for LeBron James’ first game back in Cleveland this year.

Fox8 reported that DeWine’s recommendation was for all high school, college and professional teams in the state, he said. He added that parades and large tailgate events could be dangerous.

“It’s an unacceptable risk to put that many people together,” he said in a press conference Tuesday livestreamed by WKYC. He added that fans gathering in the streets “is a recipe for disaster.”

Ohio is in a State of Emergency, as there have been three COVID-19 cases in the state.

The Mid-American Conference Basketball Tournaments, which will be held In Cleveland this week, will now be played without fans in attendance, the conference announced Tuesday evening. Only “credentialed institutional personnel, student-athlete family members, credentialed media, television and radio crews, and official team party members” will be allowed, the conference said.

“The safety of all is our greatest concern. Since January, I have stated that any decision would follow the advice of state governmental officials and medical professionals,” said Mid-American Conference Commissioner, Dr. Jon Steinbrecher. Following the feedback we received today we have taken this action which is in alignment with the recommendation of Governor DeWine.”

The Ohio High School Athletic Association will hold its girls’ and boys’ state basketball tournament this week and announced they will have “limited spectators.”

“We are pleased that our tournaments can continue and we will soon determine who can attend,” OHSAA Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass said in a statement. “However, we can already say that it will most likley be no more than the immediate family of the student-athletes participating in the event.”

No order has been made regarding spectators at NCAA or pro games. NCAA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Hainline told CNN the NCAA is preparing for the possibility of playing games without fans.

“Let’s say that we discover that COVID-19 is an illness where the public health is really threatened,” Hainline told CNN. “The only people that are in the building are the players and the referees and the necessary personnel. The fans aren’t there and we know that the risk mitigation is superb and that the people there are without risk of transmission... We painted all of those scenarios and so we’re prepared for that.”

Last week, the NCAA announced a coronavirus advisory panel to guide its response to the outbreak. At the time, NCAA chief operating officer Donald Remy said “we are planning to conduct our championships as planned.”

NCAA president Mark Emmert said Tuesday its panel, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health officials have not advised against holding athletic events.

Games last week at Johns Hopkins University of the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament went on without spectators. The university made the decision citing guidance from the CDC

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 3:59 PM.