W.N.B.A. Postpones Start of Season

Every other major sports league has been put on hold because of the virus. The N.B.A. suspended its season on March 11 after one of its players tested positive for the virus. In an interview with The New York Times last month, Engelbert said that the morning after the N.B.A. suspended its season she contacted Terri Jackson, the head of the W.N.B.A.’s players’ union, to discuss plans for delaying their season for up to 90 days.

The delay could position the seasons of the W.N.B.A. and N.B.A. to overlap much more than usual; the N.B.A. typically has just a month of playoff games remaining when the W.N.B.A.’s season begins. Engelbert told The Times that additional overlap this year could give her league a chance to expose itself to new audiences, such as by playing home games in different venues or by having doubleheaders with N.B.A. games.

“One of our transformational goals is to expand the fandom, expand the reach of the W.N.B.A. beyond our 12 cities to get more exposure to our players in our potential fan population,” Engelbert told The Times. “So we could actually be creative here and think about other cities.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/sports/basketball/coronavirus-wnba-season-postponed.html