Kansas City Roos’ conference foe cancels basketball games over coronavirus worries
Update (1:22 p.m.): The Kansas City Roos will not play Saturday at Seattle, the school announced Wednesday afternoon. The Roos will play Thursday at Utah Valley, as previously scheduled.
While the Kansas City men’s basketball team is scheduled to play Saturday at Seattle University, another conference foe has opted against playing the Redhawks in Washington state.
Chicago State won’t play its Western Athletic Conference games at Seattle (Thursday) or Utah Valley (Saturday) because of concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, the Associated Press reported.
The school’s women’s basketball teams also won’t play host to teams from those schools on Thursday and Saturday.
Kansas City, which is still known to many by its former name, UMKC, is set to play at Utah Valley on Thursday and end the regular season at Seattle. A team official told The Star on Wednesday in an email: “At this time, Kansas City Athletics will respond in short order should we make any scheduling and/or travel changes.”
Nearly 120 people in the United States have been diagnosed with the virus, and there have been nine deaths, all in Washington state, per the New York Times. One person has reportedly been diagnosed in Utah.
Worldwide, there have been more than 92,000 coronavirus cases and 3,214 deaths, LiveScience.com reported.
“Chicago State athletics views our decision as a reaffirmation of our commitment to the well-being, health and safety of our student athletes,” Chicago State athletic director Elliott Charles said a statement, the AP reported.
The Chicago State men’s basketball team has a 4-25 record and is 0-14 in conference games, while the women’s team is 1-26 and 1-13.
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 9:03 AM.
