Charles Barkley now calling for suspension of March Madness: ‘Let’s get all these players tested’

Turner and CBS Sports analyst Charles Barkley is now calling for a suspension of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, with the NBA great saying on Thursday that all players should be tested for coronavirus.

“I love working for Turner and CBS. We have to take a step and look at March Madness,” the popular basketball commentator said on CNN. “Even though they won’t have fans in the stands, I don’t want these big strong players breathing on each other for next month.”

“I think the NCAA and the NBA should take a step back,” he continued. “Let’s get all these players tested, these guys have been with their families for the last two weeks.

“I think March Madness should be suspended,” Barkley concluded. “Let’s got the players tested because clearly it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

Just days ago, Barkley said it would be a “travesty” if fans were banned from March Madness. 

“Other than the Olympics, March Madness is the greatest thing I have ever experienced,” Barkley told Stephen Colbert during an appearance Tuesday on CBS’s “Late Show.”

“The last few years we have been covering March Madness,” Barkley added. “It would be a travesty if the fans weren’t there.”

The NCAA announced Wednesday afternoon that its upcoming men’s and women’s national basketball tournaments would be held in empty arenas, except for close family members and essential staff.

The NBA then announced that it was suspending its regular season after one player tested positive for the novel coronavirus. It is not clear if its playoff schedule, which runs from mid-April to late June, would be affected.

Other professional sports leagues in the U.S., including MLB, MLS and the NHL, announced Monday that they would temporarily prohibit all nonessential personnel, including reporters, from entering locker rooms and clubhouses.