US Let's Foreign Athletes Back into the Country... Does this Confirm US Open Will Happen??

REUTERS - "The United States will exempt some foreign athletes who compete in professional sporting events in the United States from entry bans imposed because of the novel coronavirus epidemic, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said on Friday... The sports covered by the exemption include Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour, the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, the National Hockey League, the Association of Tennis Professionals, and the Women’s Tennis Association.

'In today’s environment, Americans need their sports. It’s time to reopen the economy and it’s time we get our professional athletes back to work,' Wolf said in a statement issued by the department announcing he had signed an order for the exemption."

Honestly, this is great news! Not just for the tennis world but for the entire sports world as well. We have gotten to the point in quarantine where everyone is scrambling to understand and figure out ways in which we can watch live professional sports again. Some may think this might be too soon, but these associations are taking as many precautions as they can to give these players their jobs back and to entertain the countless sports fans across the world.

Not only does this exempt affect the athletes, it extends to their training staff, coaches, family and others close to them. This brings up the question, "Will the US Open still happen?" To that I say, it most likely will (even though I don't necessarily agree with this nor want it to). We all are aware that professional tennis is filled with athletes from different cultures and countries. This exempt now allows those athletes to hopefully play a major during its original scheduled date. Do I think it is a good idea? No, not really.

All these countries around the world, that may or may not be ahead of the US in the Coronavirus timeline, have put into place laws and regulations for the virus. Some countries are doing exceptionally well compared to the US in combating the virus, however if the US allows players to travel to the US Open, it increases the chances of these players bringing the virus back in to their country, which may cause more panic, let alone the risk of the players and their team potentially bringing the virus into the US as well.

When it comes to sports that are primarily domestic (like the NFL, NBA, MLS, etc.) it is easier to contain because most players live in the same area and can contain themselves to the same spaces. BUT, if we do add foreign players coming from different countries, we might not only put ourselves in danger, but other countries as well.