The XFL shut down its season earlier in the week amid growing concerns of the coronavirus (COVID-19) virus spreading across the United States. It was one of several leagues to suspend operations.
We now have some more information regarding the start-up league. It’s not great. Reports surfaced Friday that an unnamed Seattle Dragons player has tested positive for the virus.
The XFL confirmed this in a statement on Saturday.
“The league is alerting players, staff, vendors and partners associated with the Dragons, Roughnecks, and (St. Louis) BattleHawks, as this player also participated in the February 29 game in St. Louis,” the league said in a statement.
A worker at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field had previously tested positive for coronavirus. It’s not yet known if these two situations are connected.
We will obviously have more information as it becomes available. For now, the unnamed player is the third professional athlete in North America to test positive for COVID-19, joining Utah Jazz teammates Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.