USC football suspends Spring Camp indefinitely amid coronavirus concerns

USC football’s 2020 Spring Camp has been suspended indefinitely amid growing fears for the spread of the coronavirus.

The coronavirus has already resulted in the suspension of the NBA season and the Pac-12 basketball tournament. Now it will officially put a stop to USC football’s Spring Camp.

The Trojans took to the practice field for the first time on Wednesday and it will be their last outing on Howard Jones Field for the foreseeable future.

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“USC spring football practices have been suspended until further notice. #FightOn,” the Trojans tweeted on Thursday morning.

USC’s decision to end Spring Camp early followed on the heels of UCLA and Notre Dame doing the same.

Early Thursday the Pac-12 and most other athletic conferences canceled their men’s basketball tournaments, as well as other athletics competitions across the board. Recruiting visits at Illinois and other programs have been put on hold while Spring Games at Cincinnati and elsewhere have been canceled.

The first sign that camp would be suspended came from USC cornerback Chris Steele. He tweeted on Thursday morning, “First my Cabo trip and now spring ball. This is craze.”

https://twitter.com/KinggChris7/status/1238149001817419776

The sports world is in unchartered territory when it comes to dealing with a pandemic like the COVID-19 coronavirus. Recommendations from health officials include avoiding large gatherings of people, like sporting events, and maintaining “social distancing” to prevent the spread of the virus. With athletes themselves testing positive for coronavirus, reportedly including NBA players Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz, measures like playing games without spectators may not be enough to prevent further spread.

USC’s football players may be able to practice “social distancing” in their daily lives, but on the practice field that is simply impossible.

There is no telling if or when USC will be able to get back on the practice field. Classes at the university will remain online until April.