The NBA recently ruled that teams in states that are relaxing stay-at-home policies could re-open their facilities starting on May 1. The Atlanta Hawks, residing in Georgia, are one of the teams that could take advantage of this ruling. However, the team will not do that just yet.
The Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, announced last week that as of Friday, April 24, some nonessential businesses could open back up provided distancing measures were still being enacted.
As shared by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk said the franchise will wait for a couple of weeks to see what happens across the state.
Wojnarowski also shared that other teams are pushing back against the NBA’s ruling, and that they are “still awaiting a more deetailed NBA plan today.” Furthermore, he wrote that there’s an expectation the NBA could move the re-opening date.
Because the United States does not have a federal plan outside of general guidelines, it is going to be difficult for any sports leagues to restart amid the COVID-19 pandemic outside of a “bubble” scenario in which the league self-quarantines and plays without fans.
At this point, it appears starting back up again is still a long ways away.