SINGAPORE – All ActiveSG indoor sport halls will be closed for a day on Sunday (June 28) as a “time-out” and “to ensure that all users of ActiveSG’s indoor sport halls understand the rules and spirit of the safe management measures”, said Sport Singapore (SportSG) on Saturday (June 27).

This, after it was alerted to a positive Covid-19 case who had played badminton at the ActiveSG Jurong East Indoor Sport Hall on Monday (June 22) and had flouted SportSG’s safe management measures while doing so. This hall will be closed from Saturday till Sunday “for thorough disinfection and cleaning, and a review of the safe management measures in place”.

SportSG said it hoped that with the temporary closure of all its halls, “all users of our facilities will take this time to reflect on the importance of exercising individual responsibility for the collective good, so that we can overcome Covid-19, together”.

The national sports agency also warned that it would take action against errant users, and said it would implement new measures to ensure that users abide by the rules at all its indoor sport facilities.

SportSG noted in a statement that preliminary investigations found that the positive case and a large badminton social group that he played with had breached the safe management measures and rules put in place by SportSG.

The badminton social group had between them booked up to six badminton courts from 9am to noon that day.

During the sessions, there was cross-mixing of players across multiple courts, despite the physical partitions and clear rules that restrict the number of players on a court to four. Mingling with players on other courts is also not allowed. 

These rules that prohibit inter-group mixing are in force for all sports and not just badminton. They were introduced on June 19, the day sports facilities were given the green light to reopen following the easing of circuit breaker measures.

The statement said: “SportSG views any violation of safe management measures very seriously as they compromise the entire national effort to minimise the risk of community transmission.

“SportSG is investigating this incident and will take strong action against the individual and the other players who have infringed the regulations, including barring them from the use of ActiveSG facilities henceforth.”

Among the new measures it will implement to ensure users adhere to the rules are the issuing of coloured wrist bands to be worn by players to identify different groups for each badminton court and to remind players to act responsibly. 

It added that SportSG will be scrutinising badminton social groups who plan to congregate in a large group at any venue. Individuals involved with such groups, as well as those who play and mix across different courts, will have their bookings cancelled and/or ejected from the indoor sport hall, as well as barred from the future use of ActiveSG facilities.

SportSG chief executive officer Lim Teck Yin said: “It is very disappointing that some members of the public had not adhered to the rules and circumvented the measures that were put in place by SportSG.

“Such irresponsible behaviour will jeopardise everyone’s efforts to minimise Covid-19 transmission within the community. SportSG will enhance its measures and enforcement to stop such irresponsible behaviour.

“We hope that this ‘time-out’ helps all of us to reflect on how we should work together. As much as we are excited to catch up with our friends and to keep active, we must do the right thing and abide by the rules and the spirit behind them. This way, we can ensure that our sport facilities can remain open, so that the community can continue to participate in sport and stay healthy.”

Sports facilities resumed operations from June 19, which marked the start of the second phase of Singapore’s reopening.

The Singapore Badminton Association also issued a statement urging the fraternity to comply with the regulations. It said it was “disappointed by the irresponsible behaviour of the individual (and other individuals) involved in this incident”. 

It added: “SBA had earlier outlined a set of safe management measures specific to the badminton fraternity in accordance with SportSG’s advisory on safe return to sports in Phase 2. We strongly urge all in the badminton community to show true sportsmanship in adhering strictly to the measures in place. This is about minimising the risk of community spread. Let’s be responsible to our loved ones and the community. Their safety and well-being is our priority.”

When contacted, the organiser of the session said the group did not intend to breach the safe management rules and did so only “because we did not understand the inter-mingling rule properly and the ActiveSG staff present did not inform us”.

He added the group would cease organising such sessions “until the rules are clear to everyone”. He also revealed 29 people were at the Monday session, including himself. 

While disappointed, members of the badminton community and users of the ActiveSG indoor sport halls said they understood the reasons for the one-day closure.

Badminton coach Danny Aw, who had to cancel a coaching session at the Choa Chu Kang sport hall on Sunday, said: “The closure is for a day and it’s for the safety of those using the hall, so this can reassure (users) and clearer safety measures can be issued, and the place can be disinfected as well.”

The 39-year-old, who would have made between $90 to $120 for his scheduled two-hour session, added: “Income will definitely be affected, but it’s fair because we don’t want another cluster to form and harm everyone including my students, myself and our families.”

IT engineer Yong Hon Chong, who used to play badminton regularly before sports facilities were shut due to the coronavirus, felt there was “no choice” but to close the venues this weekend.

The 45-year-old is resuming his weekly game at the Toa Payoh Sport Hall with four friends next Saturday as he could not secure bookings this week due to high demand.

“It’s necessary and we have to live with it. There’s a risk and that’s why (sports facilities) had to be closed for such a long time, and (a positive Covid-19 case) still happened even after they opened,” he added. “Hopefully the closure doesn’t extend till next week. We’ll definitely check the guidelines before playing so that we are clear.”

Of the 18 ActiveSG indoor sport halls, only 11 are open. 

Badminton courts are ActiveSG’s most popular sports facilities – there were over 810,000 badminton court bookings last year, the highest in comparison to all other sports and facilities. Over 90 per cent of about 3,000 slots for public badminton courts from June 19-21 were taken up when sports facilities reopened on June 19.

SportSG’s advisory, issued on June 17, states that the use of sports facilities are subject to the following safe management measures:

(1) individuals to maintain a safe distance while exercising

(2) a rule of maximum five persons in group activities with no mixing between groups

(3) a minimum safe distance of 3m between groups

(4) facility capacity limited according to its gross floor area based on 10 sq m per person or 50 persons, whichever is lower. In the case of ActiveSG badminton courts, the maximum number of people allowed is capped at four per court. Cross-mixing of groups is not allowed.

ZAGREB • Outspoken tennis star Nick Kyrgios led a barrage of criticism against the “boneheaded” decision to hold Novak Djokovic’s charity event in Croatia, after Borna Coric revealed he had become the second high-profile player to test positive for the coronavirus.

Croatia’s Coric, who played in the Adria Tour exhibition tournament last week, joined Grigor Dimitrov in getting the Covid-19 infection.

Dimitrov’s coach Kristijan Groh and world No. 1 Djokovic’s fitness coach Marko Paniki also tested positive, raising concerns for governing bodies who are bidding to restart the sport after a shutdown since March.

Last week, the ATP and the WTA issued revised calendars for the resumption of the circuit from August. But those plans may need to be redrawn, after the risks of athletes from different countries mixing without adhering to social distancing norms were highlighted.

“Boneheaded decision to go ahead with the ‘exhibition’ speedy recovery fellas, but that’s what happens when you disregard all protocols. This IS NOT A JOKE,” Australian Kyrgios said in a scathing social media post that featured three facepalm emojis.

Bulgarian world No. 19 Dimitrov played in Djokovic’s event in Belgrade and the second leg in the Croatian coastal resort of Zadar as did other top names like Austria’s Dominic Thiem (world No. 3) and Germany’s Alexander Zverev (7).

The tournament witnessed packed stands in Belgrade, players hugging at the net, posing for pictures and attending press conferences together.

Serbian Djokovic organised nights out in Belgrade and pictures and videos of him dancing with the other participants at his event were posted on social media. With both Serbia and Croatia easing lockdown measures weeks before the event, players were not obliged to observe social distancing rules in either country.

The Sunday final between Djokovic and Russia’s Andrey Rublev was cancelled as a precaution once Dimitrov tested positive.

Goran Ivanisevic, the director of the Zadar leg and Djokovic’s coach, was greeted with jeers from fans when he broke the news courtside.

BLAST FROM DOWN UNDER

Boneheaded decision to go ahead… speedy recovery fellas, but that’s what happens when you disregard all protocols.

” NICK KYRGIOS, Australian tennis player, on the lack of health measures.

---

NO HOLDS BARRED

Pure hubris. His exho so wrong on so many levels. And flaunting their no precaution behavior on Twitter.

” JON WERTHEIM, Sports Illustrated journalist, quoting a former player on the Adria Tour.

Fans also made their feelings known on social media, with Djokovic, who heads the ATP Tour players’ council, under fire from the tennis community for being irresponsible and not taking the pandemic seriously.

Responding to a Twitter user who was critical of Djokovic, Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim replied: “Can’t disagree… As a former player just wrote me: ‘Pure hubris. His exho so wrong on so many levels. And flaunting their no precaution behavior on Twitter makes everything moving forward for the sport tougher’.”

American great Chris Evert also criticised the organisers for the lack of social distancing, saying “… total physical contact, no face masks, even the fans were without masks.. I don’t get it.”

In a commentary for The Telegraph, tennis correspondent Simon Briggs’ described the positive test results as a “sad but predictable outcome of what can only be viewed as reckless management” and that the players “behaved as if they were immune to the virus”.

With international tennis suspended, 17-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic organised the tour as a charity event to be contested over four legs.

He reportedly took a coronavirus test yesterday after returning to Belgrade in the morning. The results were not available by press time.

Djokovic’s brother Djordje, the overall tournament director, told Sportske Novosti daily paper online edition: “Novak? He took this news very hard. We undertook all the measures prescribed by the governments of Serbia and Croatia.”

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

For once, Nick Kyrgios was a master of subtlety. There wasn’t a ‘Whoah momma!’, or even a ‘Whoa nooooo’. Instead, he set forth a restrained, understated ‘Oh boy’ to the news that Novak Djokovic, perhaps his favourite off-court speed ball, had tested positive to COVID-19.

Kyrgios wasn’t surprised, because nobody was surprised. Djokovic’s test result seemed like the crowning achievement of a moronic week at the hastily organised Adria Tour in the Balkans, which has left a trail of top players, some coaches and very likely fans infected. It also left his already strained reputation as a leader of the sport in freefall.

There had been regular hugging, back slapping, interactions with fans like it was the heady days of 2019 and, in between a few matches, frat boy nightclub scenes with players doing the limbo and dancing the night away like the pandemic could be waved away like cigarette smoke outside the front door.

Were they all immune? They were rich, bored and sick of isolation measures, so the logic says yes. Sadly, all the gratitude-infused health water in the Adriatic Sea wasn’t enough to prevent a cluster of transmissions that have deeply embarrassed the world No.1 and others, like Grigor Dimitrov, who soaked up the carefree atmosphere and virus particles.

NORMAN — Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley told ESPN’s Mike Golic Jr. and Trey Wingo on Thursday that several OU players have either been exposed or tested positive for COVID-19.

That’s not a surprise to him or others. As teams return across the nation for workouts, positive cases among players have been common. Texas announced earlier in the day that 13 football players have tested positive.

“Listen, nobody’s been immune to this,” Riley said. “We’ve had a player or two that has either been exposed or tested positive to this thing, like everyone else has. The difference is our players aren’t here together, so they haven’t exposed or potentially infected players here.”

Eventually, as Riley acknowledged, his team must reconvene. OU’s return to voluntary activities on campus begins July 1, with a plan in place for quarantining infected players.

Each player will be required to take an initial COVID-19 test. It’s uncertain how frequently tests will occur after that.

OU chose a later date to return than others as a means of gathering more information about the pandemic.

Riley touted that decision, not to chide other schools’ choices, but because it’s allowed time for more conversations with medical professionals and experts.

“I do feel like we’re more educated (now, than) had we brought our guys in even as little as a week ago; there’s less that we would have known,” Riley said. “So I do feel like we’ve been more educated. Does that mean it’s going be 100 percent? No. But I feel like we’re more prepared on two fronts.”

One of those fronts is general preparation related to the virus. The other, which Riley didn’t expound on, has to do with the civil rights movement taking place in the United States.

“I don’t want to go into a ton of details, but to prepare, with what’s gone on with the racial injustice issue across our country, to prepare and make sure we have the best environment as possible when our guys get back to town as well,” he said.

• Finch charged with felony: Former OU running back Roy Finch was charged with one felony count of assault and battery “resulting in great bodily harm,” according to court documents filed in Cleveland County on Wednesday. OU Daily first reported the news.

According to the Norman Police Department report, the assault occurred Tuesday when Finch allegedly struck the victim in the face, resulting in jaw fractures. Finch is also charged with attempting to interfere with an emergency call. A protective order was filed against him Tuesday.

Finch is awaiting a jury trial in October stemming from assault and battery charges on a police officer in Oklahoma County in April 2018.

From 2010-13 he compiled 1,412 rushing yards and six touchdowns with the Sooners. As a kick returner he tied OU’s longest return with a 100-yard TD against Kansas in 2012.

• Six weeks: Riley has “zero concern” about his team returning July 1 for voluntary workouts, with an extended preseason set to begin weeks later.

The extra two weeks, granted by the NCAA, will allow teams to hold walk-throughs before preseason camps begin.

“I think it’s a good plan,” he told ESPN. “It gives us a little more access to players two weeks before practice. These guys are going to be in good shape. The last two weeks will help us make up for basically missing our entire spring practice period. Barring a bunch of major outbreaks, I think it’s without a doubt enough time to play.”

• QB chatter: Redshirt freshman and former five-star prospect Spencer Rattler has kept pace in the Heisman Trophy odds, despite the fact that OU hasn’t named him its starting quarterback yet.

Asked if he’s already planning a December trip to New York, Riley reminded Golic and Wingo that redshirt sophomore Tanner Mordecai will get his chance at a starting spot.

“This is a different year for us quarterback-wise,” Riley said. “We had Baker Mayfield for three years and had a great run with him. It’s been so many years in a row we’ve had senior quarterbacks (Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts). We’re excited for the potential of having a quarterback for multiple years.”

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NORMAN — Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley told ESPN’s Mike Golic Jr. and Trey Wingo on Thursday that several OU players have either been exposed or tested positive for COVID-19. 

That’s not a surprise to him or others. As teams return across the nation for workouts, positive cases among players have been common. Texas announced earlier in the day that 13 football players have tested positive. 

“Listen, nobody’s been immune to this,” Riley said. “We’ve had a player or two that has either been exposed or tested positive to this thing, like everyone else has. The difference is our players aren’t here together, so they haven’t exposed or potentially infected players here.” 

Eventually, as Riley acknowledged, his team must reconvene. OU’s return to voluntary activities on campus begins July 1, with a plan in place for quarantining infected players.

Each player will be required to take an initial COVID-19 test. It’s uncertain how frequently tests will occur after that.

OU chose a later date to return than others as a means of gathering more information about the pandemic. 

Riley touted that decision, not to chide other schools’ choices, but because it’s allowed time for more conversations with medical professionals and experts. 

“I do feel like we’re more educated (now, than) had we brought our guys in even as little as a week ago; there’s less that we would have known,” Riley said. “So I do feel like we’ve been more educated. Does that mean it’s going be 100 percent? No. But I feel like we’re more prepared on two fronts.” 

One of those fronts is general preparation related to the virus. The other, which Riley didn’t expound on, has to do with the civil rights movement taking place in the United States. 

“I don’t want to go into a ton of details, but to prepare, with what’s gone on with the racial injustice issue across our country, to prepare and make sure we have the best environment as possible when our guys get back to town as well,” he said.

• Finch charged with felony: Former OU running back Roy Finch was charged with one felony count of assault and battery “resulting in great bodily harm,” according to court documents filed in Cleveland County on Wednesday. OU Daily first reported the news. 

According to the Norman Police Department report, the assault occurred Tuesday when Finch allegedly struck the victim in the face, resulting in jaw fractures. Finch is also charged with attempting to interfere with an emergency call. A protective order was filed against him Tuesday. 

Finch is awaiting a jury trial in October stemming from assault and battery charges on a police officer in Oklahoma County in April 2018. 

From 2010-13 he compiled 1,412 rushing yards and six touchdowns with the Sooners. As a kick returner he tied OU’s longest return with a 100-yard TD against Kansas in 2012.

• Six weeks: Riley has “zero concern” about his team returning July 1 for voluntary workouts, with an extended preseason set to begin weeks later. 

The extra two weeks, granted by the NCAA, will allow teams to hold walk-throughs before preseason camps begin. 

“I think it’s a good plan,” he told ESPN. “It gives us a little more access to players two weeks before practice. These guys are going to be in good shape. The last two weeks will help us make up for basically missing our entire spring practice period. Barring a bunch of major outbreaks, I think it’s without a doubt enough time to play.” 

 

• QB chatter: Redshirt freshman and former five-star prospect Spencer Rattler has kept pace in the Heisman Trophy odds, despite the fact that OU hasn’t named him its starting quarterback yet. 

Asked if he’s already planning a December trip to New York, Riley reminded Golic and Wingo that redshirt sophomore Tanner Mordecai will get his chance at a starting spot. 

“This is a different year for us quarterback-wise,” Riley said. “We had Baker Mayfield for three years and had a great run with him. It’s been so many years in a row we’ve had senior quarterbacks (Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts). We’re excited for  the potential of having a quarterback for multiple years.” 

 

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The NCAA had a chance to do the right thing on Friday and, in a stunning turn of events, completely missed the mark.

Who saw that one coming?

The punishment that the Committee on Infractions handed down to Oklahoma State on Friday, a one-year postseason ban to go along with scholarship reductions and myriad recruiting sanctions, was wrong and should be utterly terrifying for the other programs that found themselves caught up in the FBI’s investigation into college basketball corruption.

Oklahoma State faced a single Level I violation. It was an unethical conduct charge levied at former assistant coach Lamont Evans, who accepted at least $18,150 in bribes from financial advisors in exchange for peddling influence over one player from Oklahoma State and one player from South Carolina, where Evans was coaching before accepting a job on Brad Underwood’s staff in the spring of 2016. Evans was also accused of giving Jeffery Carroll $300.

That’s it.

Evans provided no competitive advantage for Oklahoma State, unless you consider the $300 he paid to Carroll — who was already on the roster and suspended for three games as a result — a competitive advantage. Evans was lining his pockets. He was not doing this to benefit the basketball program. Technically speaking, the players Evans claimed to have the power of persuasion over were the victims of the crimes that got him sentenced to three months in prison on federal bribery charges. He steered them to financial advisors that were willing to shell out bribe money. He knew nothing about the people that he was telling these players to invest their money with. One of the men Evans accepted bribes from was Marty Blazer, who sparked this entire investigation to try and avoid prison when he was caught by the SEC embezzling millions of dollars from clients.

That’s where Evans was guiding players who trusted him.

The players were the victims.

Despite that, Oklahoma State was still hit with a one-year postseason ban. Evans has been gone for three years. Carroll has been gone for two. Neither the current head coach — Mike Boynton — or the head coach the violations were committed under — Brad Underwood — were mentioned in the Notice of Allegations.

“There were no recruiting or other major violations on the part of the institution,” Oklahoma State said in a statement in November. “There are no allegations involving current student-athletes or coaching staff.”

None of that mattered to the Committee on Infractions.

They dropped the hammer on Oklahoma State, effectively neutering what was the most anticipated OSU season since Marcus Smart returned for his sophomore year. So much for seeing Cade Cunningham play in the NCAA tournament. Hell, we may not see Cunningham play for Oklahoma State, period. He was offered the chance to join the G League prospect pathway program, reportedly for as much money as Jalen Green. If he’s not going to play meaningful games at Oklahoma State, maybe he reconsiders the offer.

“Whatever the best option is for him we’re going to support 100 percent without any reservations,” Boynton said.

This gets to the core of the problem when it comes to NCAA enforcement: They far too often punish players and coaches for violations that they took no part in. What did Cunningham, or anyone else on Oklahoma State’s roster, have to do with Lamont Evans accepting bribes from a white collar felon that had been flipped by the FBI? How was anyone associated with the Oklahoma State athletic department supposed to prevent one assistant coach from accepting those bribes?

“A postseason ban for a bunch of kids that were 15, 16 years old when a lot of this was going on? It’s completely, completely out of bounds,” Boynton said.

He’s not wrong.

A postseason ban is total overkill.

That is the most infuriating part is that the NCAA was actually able to punish the man responsible. That’s not usually the case. Evans received a 10-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA in addition to a three month jail sentence for pleading guilty. His coaching career is effectively over. He’ll never be a Division I head coach. He’ll never coach at a level where he is able to earn a couple hundred grand as an assistant. The person entirely at fault for this situation had his life blown up.

And Oklahoma State still got a postseason ban despite the fact that, as Larry Parkinson of the Committee on Infractions said, “the institution fully cooperated from the moment they learned about the circumstances.”

That should be a major red flag for everyone else caught up in this investigation.

USC, Arizona and Auburn all had an assistant coach plead guilty to similar charges as Evans. Louisville committed their violations while they were on probation from the last scandal the program was embroiled in. Oklahoma State faced one Level I violation. Kansas faces five, and they’ve made quite clear they aren’t going to be as cooperative.

If the Committee on Infractions has set the bar here, everyone else better be ready to catch the book that gets thrown at them.

The absence of vaccines for the deadly pandemic COVID-19, triggered almost all countries all over the world to embrace the draconian method of locking down its borders. This is one way to flatten the curve and to starve the novel coronavirus from finding hosts and spreading the infection. But, for the love of the game, a “Pokemon Go” player was charged for ignoring the COVID-19 restriction.

Italy now has the most number of deaths caused by the COVID-19, and it is enforcing stricter guidelines to prevent the spread of infection beginning Mar. 09, 2020. Comicbook recently reported that a 31-year old “Pokemon Go” player was recently charged for violating the country’s lockdown rules. He was caught playing the augmented reality game outside of his house in Italy.

During the lockdown, residents are restricted from leaving their homes and are only allowed to do so for specific reasons like purchasing necessities. Despite the danger of contracting the novel coronavirus, authorities fined over 43,000 people caught violating the country’s rules.  Leggo, an Italian news outlet revealed that the 31-year old “Pokemon Go” player is a resident of San Fermo and was playing the augmented reality game with his daughter when he was intercepted by the authority.

Pokemon Go maker Niantic continues to make changes to improve the game and make it enjoyable for everyone Photo: AFP / INA FASSBENDER

“Pokemon Go” earned its popularity because it is the first game to allow players to go outside, travel places, and personally interact with other players in an actual real-world setting. It offers exciting features like Raid Battles that encourage players to go out and play together. But, the current COVID-19 pandemic just makes it difficult for players to do the things that they enjoy doing in the augmented reality game.

Niantic recently postponed several in-game events in “Pokemon Go” to encourage players to home quarantine or self-isolate. Moreover, the game developer made some changes to the game like making incense more affordable, so “Pokemon Go” players could lure pocket monsters to their location. Pokemon Eggs are now easier to hatch, which could now be accomplished by just making a few footsteps.

The COVID-19 pandemic has, by far, changed the way we do our day to day activities, and Italy is not an isolated case. Most countries practice total lockdown to prevent the spread of infection. “Pokemon Go” players might find it hard these days to enjoy the popular augmented reality game, but the risk of contracting the novel coronavirus far outweighs the joy of playing the game.