NBA owes fans an explanation on its coronavirus plans, Gavin Newsom says

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that major sports leagues, including the National Basketball Association, owe their fans more consideration related to coronavirus.

He made the remarks during a news conference in the Capitol building, blocks from the downtown arena where the Kings basketball team is scheduled to host three home games over the next week.

Newsom criticized the NBA, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball for barring reporters from locker rooms in an effort to protect their players from the virus but not announcing plans to protect fans.

Sacramento County has declared a public health emergency amid the outbreak and county officials have confirmed 11 cases of the virus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19. The Kings organization has not announced plans to postpone games.

“I found it quite curious that the four major organizations NHL, soccer, MLB and the NBA put out guidelines to protect their athletes but not their fans,” Newsom told reporters at the news conference. “I think they owe you and their fanbase an answer as to why is it more important to keep you as reporters away from their players in the locker room than keeping fans in highly contagious parts of the country together.”

He stopped short of calling for games to be canceled, but said sports leagues and local health officials bear the responsibility to ensure that large events, including games, can be held safely. On Saturday, his office released guidelines for event organizers that advise canceling or delaying some events in communities where the virus is spreading.

“We want to maximize the disruption for nonessential events, so we can minimize the impact of essential functions and events,” Newsom said Tuesday.