WWE is back in Florida, is the NBA next?
Some changes have occurred in the past couple of hours in the state of Florida regarding the Coronavirus lockdown and businesses allowed to operate as usual.
In an order signed on Thursday, the Florida Division of Emergency Management states that essential services now include “employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience – including any athletes, entertainers, production team, executive team, media team and any others necessary to facilitate including services supporting such production – only if the location is closed to the general public”.
At first all sporting events including WWE were shut down, but after a meeting between Orange County mayor and Florida Governor they have revoked the original decision.
This all seems strange as, although in Orange County in particular it seems that the curve has flatten, it’s still way to soon to take these kind of measures and putting lots of people’s lives at risk just to give the WWE fans a spectacle.
Governor Ron DeSantis declared to ESPN that these sort of sporting events like the ones WWE throws are crucial to Florida’s economy.
It all seems a bit suspicious if you take into consideration the relationship between Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and CEO, and US President Donald Trump. Linda, McMahon’s wife, was part of Trump’s cabinet frrom 2017 to 2019 and is now part of America First Action, a pro-Trump Super Pac. Also, Vince McMahon owned the XFL, which recently had to file for bankruptcy because the season had to shutdown due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
The NFL has released a statement to ESPN regarding this situation: “We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times. We are producing content on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance following appropriate guidelines while
taking additional precautions to ensure the health and wellness of our performers and staff. As a brand that has been woven into the fabric of society, WWE and its superstars bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance.”
This new order opens the door to other sport leagues resuming their seasons like the NBA, but obviously the last decision comes down to Commissioner Adam Silver.
