Virginia team withdraws from NCAA amid rising COVID-19 concerns

The Virginia Commonwealth University team was forced to pull out of the remaining highly-anticipated NCAA Tournament matches while citing the COVID-19 protocols as the reason for the retraction, according to US media reports. 

With the VCU team’s withdrawal from the competition, the upcoming game against Oregon on Saturday has been called off just a few hours before the commencement, while the seventh-seeded team moves ahead with the competition. 

Also Read: ‘Not NCAA Property’: Athletes raise uproar on Twitter ahead of tournament

Even though no specific details were provided during the crucial announcement, due to concerns related to the team’s privacy, the NCAA said that the Marion County Public Health Department’s consultation was taken under advisement before taking the decision of withdrawal. 

The statement read, “The NCAA and the committee regret that VCU’s student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to play in a tournament in which they earned the right to participate.”

Also Read: Pressure mounts on Lakers after loss against Atlanta Hawks

Similar decisions were announced by teams like Kansas and Duke amid the rising threat of the virus in the US. A reality check was kicked in by the President of NCAA, Mark Emmert, who said a few cases could be expected in the duration of the tournament.