… lack of sports disrupting finance, entertainment industries

By Clifton Ross

SPORTS has taken its first-ever hiatus, isolating itself from fans and athletes alike, resulting in a chaotic situation which has been plaguing the financial as well as the entertainment world for roughly two months.

COVID-19 spared no expense as the novel pandemic virus has spun the world into a post-apocalyptic way of living. It has been close to two months and no live sports have been played anywhere on earth since the global lockdown came into effect.
The negative result has left things in a financial rut for most if not all, taking into consideration the trillions of dollars used to bail out the flustering economy in the United States, primarily.

The athletes have also taken a blow as some of them were forced to take pay cuts while some other leagues have managed to cover their players over a significant period, resulting in consequential fiscal backlashes.

Most leagues and associations have now been staring at bankruptcy since choosing to put their stars first. Bodies such as Cricket West Indies (CWI) and other regional as well as international authorities are under financial pressure as most of their tours and tournaments have been either cancelled or are being currently monitored.

However, it is the fans who have suffered the most from this as they have been the catalyst behind the money-making cash cow which is the sports industry.
Also, the fans are the ones who have been more robbed of their recreational time, being forced to watch reruns of sports or find other less popular means of passing the time.

Lack of fan support, due to quarantine and social-distancing rules, has also created a boring atmospheric world for those who use cricket, basketball, football, golf or contact sports like professional wrestling, the UFC (Mixed martial arts) and boxing as a way to unwind or in the athletes case; a means of earning their livelihood.
The indefinite pause has cast uncertainty and fear for team owners, players, investors, stakeholders and shareholders alike.

Should coronavirus linger for a more indefinite period and should the infection as well as the mortality rate continue to spike as it has been, it will be left to see how fast the economic and social damage continue to spread globally and the results.

It will also be interesting to see how the athletes respond to such uncertainty of not being able to earn income due to lack of sports or lack of fans at events, which suffice for a mega aspect of income; due to any health fears or regulations.

Sports has also been used as a tool to keep youths on the right path or to help heal one’s troubles by helping them find alternative ways to have fun or as in contemporary times to earn an honest way of living.

In conclusion, the subtraction of sports from the world has certainly created a ripple effect which, if not fixed, could spiral terribly out of control and will take an immense global, financial effort to be resolved.