Colorado Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond says he is opting out of the 2020 MLB season due to the health and safety risks of playing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Desmond, who played seven seasons for the Nationals before joining the Texas Rangers in free agency, also said baseball's labor wars, cheating scandals, clubhouse homophobia, racism, and sexism contributed to his decision to skip the shortened season. "The COVID-19 pandemic has made this baseball season one that is a risk I am not comfortable taking," he wrote on Instagram. "With a pregnant wife and four young children who have lots of questions about what's going on in the world, home is where I need to be right now,'' Desmond's post read. "Home for my wife, Chelsey. Home to help. Home to guide. Home to answer my older three boys' questions about Coronavirus and Civil Rights and life. Home to be their Dad.'' View this post on Instagram On my mind. A post shared by Ian Desmond (@i_dez20) on Jun 29, 2020 at 6:53pm PDTDesmond would have been due about $5.5 million for the prorated share of his $15 million salary after signing a five-year, $70 million contract with Colorado, according to The Associated Press. He joins Nationals veteran Ryan Zimmerman and starting pitcher Joe Ross and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Mike Leake as MLB players have announced they will not play in 2020. Desmond began the post by saying he felt the need to speak up after seeing the image of the police killing of George Floyd, writing, "The image of officer George Floyd, the gruesome murder of a Black man in the street at the hands of a police officer, broke my coping mechanism. Suppressing my emotions became impossible." He added his decision to speak came after seeing the now dilapidated baseball fields he played on as a kid in Sarasota, Florida. “Why can’t we support teaching the game to all kids — but especially those in underprivileged communities?” Desmond wrote. “Why aren’t accessible, affordable youth sports viewed as an essential opportunity to affect kids’ development, as opposed to money-making propositions and recruiting chances? It’s hard to wrap your head around it.” "I had the most heartbreak and the most fulfillment right there on those fields — in the same exact place. I felt the hurt of racism, the loneliness of abandonment, and so many other emotions." He also called out the clubhouse culture in MLB. “Think about it: right now in baseball we've got a labor war. We've got rampant individualism on the field. In clubhouses we’ve got racist, sexist, homophobic jokes or flat-out problems,” Desmond wrote. “We’ve got cheating. We’ve got a minority issue from the top down. One African American GM. Two African American managers. Less than 8% Black players. No Black majority team owners.” "Perhaps the most disheartening of all is a puzzling lack of focus on understanding how to change those numbers. A lack of focus on making baseball accessible and possible for all kids, not just those who are privleged enough to afford it," he writes.  "If baseball is America's pastime, maybe it's never been a more fitting one than now." LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM AppFollow RADIO.COM SportsTwitter | Facebook I Instagram

A lot has to go right if the NBA is going to pull off its plan of finishing off the 2019-20 season. Most everyone understands that. But one of the least publicized potential bumps in the road in the league's blueprint involves what happens when one of the players test positive for COVID-19. Appearing on the Dale & Keefe Show Monday, ESPN's Brian Windhorst surfaced the topic of protocols regarding positive tests, highlighting a potentially unrealistic element within the plan. "I don’t feel the league has been transparent with that," he said. "I can’t say if they’re doing that on purpose or not. According to the rules in this giant document — and let me tell you, you have to really look in this document. It’s not spelled out on Page 1 — a player that tests positive would not only be quarantined for 14 days but would have no exercise for 14 days. The reason that is important is because they are concerned about the cardiac risks that come along with COVID regardless of whether you show symptoms or not. You would be shut down for 14 days and then at that time you would have to test negative twice over a 24-hour period. "Obviously, if you're in tip-top athletic condition if you lay in bed or sit in a chair for 14 days you are not going to be able to play in a game on Day 15. You are going to need to ramp back up. ... According to what that handbook says 14 days, no exercise, sit in your room." Windhorst did throw in the caveat that while this is currently the plan, the actual implementation of regulations during a season might be a fluid situation. "This is going to be the Wild West," he noted. "I’m going to tell you, I have watched the NBA kind of make this up as it goes along. While I’m going to tell you what is in the document, if you’re going to say to me, ‘Hey, when we get to July is somebody tests positive but is better after a week are they going to let them play?’ I’m not going to sit here and tell you they won’t change their mind, but as right now, 14 days in bed." The lack of physical activity for any player testing positive is just one of a few hurdles the NBA will be facing, particularly with the cases of COVID-19 on an upswing in the Orlando area of late. Still, as Windhorst points out, nobody should expect the league to deviate from their plan of returning to action on July 31. .@WindhorstESPN joined us today and was asked about the procedure if an NBA player tests positive for COVID-19:"...not only be quarantined for 14 days, but would have no exercise for 14 days..."Full interview:https://t.co/Ar3dcd53rf pic.twitter.com/wkcyC5LhAm— Dale & Keefe (@DaleKeefeWEEI) June 22, 2020

The National Hockey League has taken another big step in its Return To Play initiative as the league and the NHL Players' Association have agreed to open Phase 3 of the plan on Friday, July 10. NHL, NHLPA agree on opening date for formal training camps. https://t.co/35lF9nEob0 pic.twitter.com/l6W4VLXVYv— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 11, 2020The length of Phase 3 and how long training camp will last has yet to be determined, and the NHL and the NHLPA are still in negotiations about the start date for Phase 4 (formal resumption of play) of the Return To Play plan. Phase 2 of the league's Return To Play initiative was officially set in motion on Monday, where players could begin returning to their home cities to take part in voluntary, individualized on- and off-ice workouts in groups of six players. However, Phase 3 of the plan could have a bit of a snag for the six Canadian teams involved in the 24-team format. Multiple reports are indicating that teams like the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets could look to hold their training camps in the United States with the 14-day quarantine period that the Canadian government requires for anyone entering the country. However, talks are ongoing with teams to see if there is a possible solution. According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, if everything continues to go according to plan with Phase 2 and if Phase 3 gets started on time, the likely start of Phase 4 and the resumption of the season will begin in early August. If everything gets taken care of and camps open on July 10, that would place the likely resumption of the NHL season at the beginning of August.— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 11, 2020

As you may have heard, the NBA will return, albeit with only 22 of its 30 teams (the Bulls, Cavaliers, Hawks, Hornets, Knicks, Pistons, Timberwolves and Warriors will not partake in any Orlando festivities), in late July following a four-month layoff caused by the coronavirus pandemic. With anticipation building for the league’s final stretch, now seems like as good a time as any to take inventory of all the NBA events fans have to look forward to over the next handful of months. Time to mark those calendars. International players return: June 15 All players report: June 21 COVID-19 testing begins: June 22 Training camp begins: June 30 Teams travel to Orlando: July 7 Regular season resumes: July 31 Play-in tournament: August 16-17 Playoffs begin (first round): August 18 Draft lottery: August 25 Second round begins: September 1 Conference Finals begin: September 15 Finals Game 1: September 30 Finals Game 7 (if necessary): October 12 2020 NBA Draft: October 15 Free agency begins: October 18 Training camp for 2020-21 begins: November 10 Opening night of 2020-21 regular season: December 1 LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM AppFollow RADIO.COM SportsTwitter | Facebook I Instagram