NEWSLETTER
I think it says enough up front to note that I have absolutely no idea what this means, where it will go, and what the outcome – if any – could be.
President Donald Trump has entered the sports conversation:
Scheduled participants on call with Trump:
NBA – Adam Silver
WNBA – Cathy Engelbert
MLB – Rob Manfred
NFL – Roger Goodell
NHL – Gary Bettman
PGA Tour – Jay Monahan
UFC – Dana White
WWE – Vince McMahon
NASCAR – John Middlebrook or Jim France.
MLS – Don Garber.Notice: No NCAA. https://t.co/ZqKhN6sdGO
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 4, 2020
I truly don’t even want to speculate about what the call could be. It could be mostly nothing. It could turn into an absolute disaster. It could turn into something positive. It could be a mere helpful check-in with the folks in charge of things that so many Americans care passionately about. With this administration, regardless of your inclinations, I think most can agree: you really just have no idea how things are going to proceed.
So I won’t speculate, and I will instead plan to monitor and update you all with whatever information we receive about the call, and then suss out the implications therefrom. In the meantime, if you haven’t read, check out MLB’s possible plan to open the season in empty Spring Training stadiums.
UPDATE: At least one commissioner is declining to comment at this time about what happened on the call:
NFL is declining to comment, at least for now, on Commissioner Roger Goodell's participation, along with other professional sports commissioners, in today's conference call with President Trump. Trump is scheduled to speak at a 3:30 p.m. news conference.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) April 4, 2020
UPDATE 2: Some details have started to come out about the President’s optimism on the return of sports.
