Major League Team Kicked Out of Orlando on Account of High Number of COVID Cases

Sports fans may need to check their excitement at the door in the coming weeks, as the seemingly imminent return of major league athletic competition takes another tumble.

The MLB, NHL, NBA, and MLS are all expected to be returning to action in the very near future, albeit under strange circumstances and in abbreviated incarnations.  As part of the process to foster a return to competition while still adhering to the necessary COVID-19 precautions, a number of these leagues and teams were set to amass in Orlando, Florida, and utilize ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex.  The hope was that the quasi-quarantined environment would make it easier to keep everyone safe.

Now, on the eve of the return of Major League Soccer, one team has been sent home from The Sunshine State on account of their high number of coronavirus cases.

FC Dallas will not participate in the MLS is Back Tournament following the high number of positive tests for the coronavirus within the club, Major League Soccer announced on Monday.

Since arriving to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on June 27 outside of Orlando, Florida, the club has had 10 players and one member of its technical staff test positive. The team has been under quarantine since then, preventing it from training.

The club had three positive tests before arriving to Florida. It was not clear if those players who first tested positive traveled with the team.

The news comes as a number of MLB players have opted out of participating in the abbreviated 2020 season out of concern for the safety of themselves and their families.

Once a sure thing – the return of American sports seems somewhat uncertain nowadays.