A 2020 Olympics Delay Seems Inevitable. Is a 4-Week Decision Needed to Get There?

“Commercial partners will have little leverage if the organizers can say the Olympics have been frustrated in their efforts to host the Olympics,” Mehrzad said.

NBC Sports, which televises the Games in the United States and is one of the I.O.C.’s biggest partners, said in a statement that it supported the committee’s approach.

“We are prepared to stand behind any decision made by the I.O.C., the Japanese government and the world health officials with whom they are working regarding the Tokyo Olympics,” NBC Sports said.

Athletes have become increasingly direct in their criticisms of the I.O.C. and Bach.

“Does this mean that athletes face up to another FOUR weeks of finding ways to fit in training — whilst potentially putting ourselves, coaches, support staff and loved ones at risk just to find out they were going to be postponed anyway,” the British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith said on Twitter.

Max Hartung, a German fencer who was in isolation with his girlfriend at home, recently said publicly that he would not participate in the Games even if they were held this summer.

“I think the pressure is rising,” Hartung said. “I understand it’s difficult to postpone and there needs to be careful planning, but me, personally, I would wish for them to take a decision sooner rather than later.”

Brendan Schwab, the executive director of the World Players Association, an umbrella body for player unions worldwide, said athletes have been simply unable to train and organizers have a responsibility to not make responding to the pandemic more difficult. “It’s simply not practical now” to hold the Games safely, he said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/sports/olympics/japan-olympics-2020-possible-postponement.html