Despite thousands of Americans dying every day from the coronavirus, the NBA plans to host its 2021 All-Star Game with guests.  

This game is a potential superspreader being held in poor taste and it should be canceled.

The NBA All-Star Game will take place March 7 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. 

While it is not a ticketed event and only players can bring guests, 1,200-1,500 people are expected to attend, according to a Feb. 16 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, the city’s daily newspaper.  

Guests and players must quarantine for seven days and test negative for COVID-19 four times before attending the event. Guests must also wear masks throughout the event, according to the same article.
Even though the measures being taken to prevent the spread are based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, it only takes one COVID-19 positive person to turn this into a major public health hazard. 

The fact that the NBA has to take all of these precautions shows hosting patrons at the All-Star Game is a bad idea. 

It’s understandable to want to host the event, but at what cost?

Some NBA players, including Los Angeles Clippers player Kawhi Leonard and L.A. Lakers star LeBron James, were unhappy with the All-Star Game hosting guests, according to a 
Feb. 9 CNBC article.

Leonard said the driving force behind the game is profit, in a Feb. 6 interview with NBC Sports.

“We all know why we’re playing it,” Leonard said in the interview.  “It’s money on the line; it’s an opportunity to make more money. Just putting money over health right now, pretty much.”

Putting profit before safety is unethical and this belief is how the pandemic got so bad in the first place.

James called the All-Star Game a “slap in the face” to players who were told it wouldn’t be held this season, according to a Feb. 4 Los Angeles Times article. 

A Feb. 18 CBS article also said the All-Star Game was previously canceled in November because of COVID-19 concerns.  

COVID-19 is still as big of a problem as it was when the event was originally canceled and thousands of Americans are still dying every day. 

The NBA hosting this event is disrespectful to those who have suffered and continue to suffer because of the disease.  

There is only one redeeming quality about the 2021 NBA All-Star Game: The event is supposed to generate $2.5 million toward historically Black colleges and COVID-19 relief efforts, according to a Feb. 18 article by KSL, an NBC-affiliate news outlet based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 While raising money for a reasonable cause is a good thing, there are other ways to go about it than to put people’s health and safety at risk. 

Philanthropy doesn’t change the fact that we’re still in the middle of a pandemic.

The NBA All-Star Game is putting profit over people’s safety and there is no good reason for it to happen. 

If the NBA values its players and guests, it needs to cancel the event.