Major League Baseball has become one of two major American sports leagues to shut down media access to clubhouses/locker rooms due to concern over the spread of the coronavirus, according to ESPN.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan:
During a conference call with ownership Monday evening, the league continued forward with its plan to stay on schedule for a March 26 opening to the season, sources familiar with the call told ESPN. MLB acknowledged that its tack could change at any time and tasked teams with drawing up contingency plans — including the possibility of playing games in alternate locations should the virus strongly affect a particular metropolitan area, sources said.
The closure of clubhouses to media will be temporary, sources said, and will be replaced by press conferences. Further access to players will be possible, but they will be advised to keep a 6-foot distance from reporters during interviews.
The NBA announced a similar policy on Monday, in which they also plan to cut-off reporter access to locker rooms. The NHL announced that they were following a CDC recommendation to close media access to dressing rooms over the weekend.
“Nippon Professional Baseball, the top league in Japan, on Monday postponed the opening of its season, which was scheduled for March 20,” Passan reports.
The NFL is now the only major American professional sports league to not officially announce that they will restrict reporter access to locker rooms. Though, unlike most other sports leagues, the NFL is still months away from the start of their training camps and preseason.
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