Basketball superstar LeBron James said he won't play if his Los Angeles Lakers have to hold games behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak.
"If I show up to the arena and there ain't no fans in the crowd, then I ain't playing. This ain't Europe," he said.
We look at how the coronavirus is affecting sport, which at 1700 GMT Saturday had killed 3,556 people while infecting more than 105,000 in 95 countries worldwide.
Basketball
LeBron James said he won't play if his Los Angeles Lakers have to hold games behind closed doors due to the outbreak.
The NBA has reportedly told teams to look into strategies on how to play without fans in the arena amid concerns over the spreading virus.
"Nah. It's impossible," James said after the Lakers' 113-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
"If I show up to the arena and there ain't no fans in the crowd, then I ain't playing. This ain't Europe."
Cycling
The spring classic Milan-San Remo, scheduled for 21 March, was postponed, having only previously been cancelled three times since the inaugural edition in 1907.
The Strade Bianchi, the first big race of the Italian cycling season set for Saturday, was also cancelled along with the Tirreno-Adriatico while teams such as Mitchelton, Ineos and Astana have pulled out of Sunday's Paris-Nice.
The UAE Tour's last two stages were abandoned with riders and teams subsequently quarantined in their Abu Dhabi hotels. The Gulf state announced eight coronavirus cases linked to the event – four Italians, two Russians, one German and a Colombian.
Tokyo Olympics
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said Wednesday that the nightmare scenario of either cancelling or postponing this year's Tokyo Olympics was not discussed at a key meeting.
"Neither the word cancellation nor postponement was mentioned today during the Executive Board meeting," Bach told reporters in Lausanne.
The Olympics take place from 24 July – 9 August.
Football
In Italy, the hardest-hit European country with 233 deaths from COVID-19, it was announced that all matches will be played behind closed doors until 3 April. This week's Italian Cup semi-finals were postponed to a date to be arranged while a number of Serie A league games were cancelled. Five of those called off last week will now be played behind closed doors on Sunday, including Juventus vs Inter Milan.
Elsewhere, the start of Japan's J-League was postponed till mid-March while China suspended all domestic football and shelved indefinitely the top-flight Super League season which was due to kick off on 22 February.
The Swiss league has already suspended all Super League matches until 23 March.
The Valencia vs Atalanta Champions League clash on 10 March will be played behind closed doors as will the Europa League tie featuring Inter Milan against Getafe on 12 March.
FIFA and Asia's football governing bodies are considering postponing upcoming 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers on 26 and 31 March.
Former Danish international Thomas Kahlenberg tested positive for the virus, with 13 members of his former club Brondby's staff have been put into quarantine.
Rugby Union
The Six Nations match between Italy and England in Rome on 14 March as well as Saturday's Ireland vs Italy duel in Dublin were cancelled.
Scotland's women's Six Nations match against France was postponed after a Scottish player tested positive for the coronavirus.
Sevens World Series tournaments in Hong Kong on 3-5 April and Singapore the following weekend have been postponed.
Cricket
Nepal's Everest Premier League, scheduled to begin on 14 March, has also been called off. The fourth edition of the Twenty20 league had signed West Indies batting star Chris Gayle.
Motor racing
The Chinese Formula One Grand Prix, which was set for 19 April in Shanghai, was axed as was the 21 March Formula E race slated for Sanya on the Chinese island of Hainan.
In motorcycling, the season-opening Qatar MotoGP, set for Sunday, and the Thailand MotoGP have also been scratched. The Thai race has, however, been rearranged for 4 October.
Formula E also postponed its Rome E-Prix, which was due to be held on 4 April.
Golf
European Tour chiefs postponed the Maybank Championship in Malaysia and the China Open in Shenzhen – both set for April.
The US LPGA Tour cancelled all three of its lucrative early-season events in Asia with a combined prize purse of more than US$5 million.
Tennis
This weekend's Davis Cup qualifiers between Italy and South Korea in Cagliari and Japan against Ecuador in Miki were played behind closed doors.
Athletics
The World Indoor Championships, scheduled for Nanjing from 13-15 March, was postponed for a year.
World half-marathon championships, due to be held on 29 March in the Polish city of Gdynia, were shelved until 17 October.
The Paris Marathon, scheduled for 5 April with 60,000 registered runners, was postponed until 18 October.
The Barcelona Marathon, which was scheduled for 15 March with 17,000 runners, was postponed until October.
Alpine skiing
The World Cup finals, scheduled for Cortina d'Ampezzo between 16-22 March, were cancelled.
Ice hockey
The Women's World Ice Hockey Championships, set for Halifax and Truro in Nova Scotia for 31 March to 10 April, were cancelled on Saturday. - AFP