ESPN to Host 'Return of Sports' SportsCenter Special on Monday With League Commissioners
By Liam McKeone
The return of sports is around the corner. The NHL will be getting started again in the second week of July, while the NBA currently plans to restart their season on July 30. The NFL has yet to make a firm decision on when actual football will be played, but right now it seems the most drastic action will be eliminating the first two preseason games, putting the earliest date for football as the third week in August. MLS will be back this month, and the WNBA plans to start their season on July 24. MLB has yet to settle their battle with the Players Association, though.
With all that close to coming to fruition, ESPN will be holding a two-hour SportsCenter special on Monday night. Hosted by Mike Greenberg, the network will have the six major sports leagues commissioners on to answer questions about the start of their respective seasons. Per the press release:
"Get Up’s Mike Greenberg will host the two-hour primetime special at 9 p.m. ET with Gary Bettman (NHL), Cathy Engelbert (WNBA), Don Garber (MLS), Roger Goodell (NFL), Rob Manfred (MLB) and Adam Silver (NBA) expected to participate in conversations. Greenberg will speak with each league commissioner about his/her sport and the approach to return. Topics will include the health and safety of players and workers, the economic impact and plans going forward, games without fans and potential broadcast innovations, the consequences and legacy of “asterisk seasons,” and the potential long-term impact of COVID-19."
The panel will also discuss the social justice reforms that the athletes of each respective sport have taken the lead on as protests continue around the country. ESPN will have additional guests as well, including ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Calais Campbell of the Baltimore Ravens, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Patrick Kane of the Chicago BlackHawks, Brianna Turner of the Phoenix Mercury, Alejandro Bedoya of the Philadelphia Union, and Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon.
While there will likely be no new details revealed about each league's plans to hold games safely, it will be an interesting discussion to have as far as understanding the parameters and needs of each league. It's a massively complicated endeavor and fans will be shown just how complicated come Monday at 9 PM ET.