March Madness to Sadness

By James Martin

Along with restaurants, entertainment centers, gyms and bars, major sporting leagues and tournaments have been shut down.

March Madness began to be concerned with the players and coaches health as the first COVID-19 case was reported in America. On March 11, four days before the bracket was set to be released, the NCAA sent out a statement saying that all six power conference tournaments had been cancelled and only close family and relatives of the players, coaches and officials/staff would be allowed to attend the March Madness tournament and women's tournament.

Then, things changed as the first NBA player was diagnosed with the virus. The NCAA then announced a day later on March 12 that they had officially cancelled the tournament (Men's and Women's) for the first time since its creation in 1939.

Many seniors took straight to social media to thank their college and fans as they would never again step on the court as a player for their team. Although many players, like Cassius Winston (Michigan State), Luke Garza (Iowa) and Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon), will all definitely be drafted into the NBA and WNBA drafts, some players were aiming to make their mark in this tournament.

This will definitely have a major effect on players and their future careers, but it is for the nation's health that we will have to wait for next March to see the outstanding college basketball athletes take the court again.