Bad error in the thread title. Should be 'Why has the AFL gone ahead but SYDNEY KINGS couldn't play 2 games?'

AFL stating all good as staff member wasn't in contact with players

Virus must be inactivated by oval shaped balls?

AFL has become a non contact sport

Kings wanted to chill at Bondi.

The Kings had a high % of players and key staff who were from overseas - not just the US, but Brazil and Germany too. There was a rapidly devolving situation both on the ground in those places, as well as in terms of ability to travel. There's also been the suggestion - and I'm not sure if there's crossover here - that a couple of the players have family members who are in the high-risk category health-wise (I think cancer was mentioned). They made a welfare decision to let those who were anxious make a run for home while they definitely still could, and if they were different players, perhaps a decision to let those who had high-risk family members withdraw as well. And it's pretty easy to see the team that remains making an all-in or all-out *team* decision beyond that.

I'm more surprised by the A-League decision (also with high % of internationals) than I am the AFL/NRL decisions. And I don't think you'll see the AFL and NRL getting too far into their seasons...

I think you can be annoyed by the fuss over how the awarding of the title decision was made, but I can't see how the Kings decision there was anything other than wholly decent and wholly commendable, IMO. The players were all on flights out within 24hrs - they weren't f'ing around. Perth fans seem to be in love with spreading the 'Sydney quit because they were going to lose' fever-dream around the place, but these are not 13 year olds, it's just such a ridiculous premise, both at an organisational level, but especially at a player level.

Anyway, I think the Kings definitely, clearly made the right decision. If you think about yourself in a position of management or ownership of one of these clubs, you can see how it's both a really tough and really easy decision to make. I'd think most decent people would have called it the same way the Kings did, and I'd like to think that the Wildcats would have called it that way too.

Just to follow up - maybe I'm a bit more sympathetic to that situation because I'm in London. I've been living and working here for ten years so it feels like 'home', but with two parents back in Sydney in their 70s, I'm very aware of the lack of ability to actually get back there right now (there are almost no available flights - Emirates is really the only one still running semi-regular direct, no Qantas, British Airways etc, and if/when Emirates suddenly shut it down?), and of course even once home, there's two weeks isolation - something I would take extremely seriously, because of course, I'd quite like to not kill one or both of my parents, as that would feel pretty bad. 'Stay or go' is not an easy decision to make, and has not been an easy one for me to make over the past fortnight.

If you're Didi, for example, where you were already facing a situation that had suddenly degraded to become a 36 hour trip via multiple stops to get home, there was a very real possibility that in another week (days?) it might simply be impossible. If you're Tate, you're the oldest kid of a large family and you're watching a rapidly escalating and scary situation on the ground in your home country. He seems like a thoroughly decent human, and it's easy to imagine him feeling a high level of anxiety around his families wellbeing, and good on him for wanting to prioritise getting to them. And that's just two of six members of the Kings core player/coaching staff who are from other countries, and not living here long-term.

Meanwhile, I'm also watching footage of a packed Bondi Beach, so perhaps the true reality of the global situation isn't quite sinking in over there just yet.

To put simply! It because of MONEY!

Both the AFL & NRL are all about everyone getting their monthly cheque.

Hence why you haven't heard one commentator, journalist, any coaches,
players, staff member from either league criticize them for playing,
when the Australian government has made it clear, everyone need to stay
indoors.

All involved with the sports have either avoided that subject or when
it is mentioned, it's watered down with excuses, like it is great for
people to have a break from the coronavirus and support their team.

What a load of BS!

Show me where the government has told everyone to stay indoors. Hasn't happened. #268 making things up now.

Well said #263, and congrats to the Kings for setting a valuable example of how to sensibly manage this increasingly severe health crisis. Sadly, a large proportion of the Australian population (e.g. Bondi beachgoers) have failed to recognise the massive danger we are all in.

Perth just wanted the championship. Who cares about health issues.

"The AFL has postponed the 2020 season as governments around the country move to implement drastic new measures amid the coronavirus pandemic."
Another flaw in Perth Wankers argument.

Never should have gone ahead. Liberal stooges going against unbiased medical opinion and ignoring what's happened overseas.

CEO should be held accountable, and lets just hope no AFL player/volunteer gets sick or dies due to Round 1 going ahead.

Hindsight is great, at the time it looked only Perth should be winners but now kings have been proved correct.

The Kings were proven incorrect when they refused the option to play best of 3.

The Kings weren't proved correct about anything. They only chose to cite player safety concerns once the series was unwinnable.

AFL still playing as I write this. Game 5 would have been over by now.

AFL would definitely still be on if it wasn't for the states closing their borders. It doesn't really have any relevance to the NBL.

That said - the AFL should never have started this year. It's a massive contributor as to why so many people are not taking this virus seriously. They're not alone though.

Kings imports would not be able to get home as the US has closed their boarders or have 14 day restrictions if allowed in, California has closed.

Kings did what is right for there imports. It's not in dispute now. They would not get home.

The Kings could have played without their imports if they were that concerned about them being stuck here. They could have also said that was the reason they didn't want to play.

Rubbish. Borders are not closed to Americans returning home.

14 day isolation when arriving in the states.

It's not about the level of restrictions and travel issues at the exact time the Kings decided to withdraw, it's that the situation was changing so rapidly every day that they couldn't possibly predict where it would be in another 48 hours time, let alone in another week. Same goes for the situation on the ground in the players/coaches home countries, or specific cities.

Some players on their team wanted to prioritise their families over a couple of sports games and the Kings supported this and agreed that it was best to get them out asap while they knew they could definitely still get home. This decision is completely separate to the decision around whether a winner should have been awarded or not and the two shouldn't be jumbled together. And it was a wholly commendable decision, and the Kings players and staff and owners should be very proud of themselves for making it, IMO.

#369 - "The Kings weren't proved correct about anything. They only chose to cite player safety concerns once the series was unwinnable." - I think anyone who jumps to this kind of belief is just showing a window into how they personally would handle any challenges in their own life.

Just stop

Agree with just stop all this crap. How many threads are their that just go in circles, please block these threads.

" This decision is completely separate to the decision around whether a winner should have been awarded or not and the two shouldn't be jumbled together. "

Then why are Sydney conflating them?