In a move that many were expecting, the New York Giants and New York Jets won’t have fans attend home games this upcoming season.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced alterations upon a number of different professional sports leagues over the past few months, and on Monday, we learned of the latest move that will certainly affect the two local NFL franchises.
As was expected by many, the New York Giants and New York Jets will not allow fans into games at MetLife Stadium this season. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has introduced a 500-person statewide limit in regards to outdoor gatherings, and both Big Blue and Gang Green are no exception to the rule.
“My Administration has been working in close coordination with professional sports and college teams to determine how to proceed safely with games at their stadiums amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Murphy said in a statement, per Steve Politi of NJ Advance Media. “While we look forward to the day we can return to games as normal and cheer from the stands, continued concerns for the health and safety of fans, team members, and staff dictate that our executive order limiting outdoor gatherings does apply to sporting events, including training camp.
“We will continue to closely monitor the public health reality and work with health experts to determine how to move forward, and we will continue to work closely with the teams as conditions change. Like all fans across New Jersey, I look forward to watching our teams play from home and plan to be there in person to support the teams when it is safe to do so.”
Both ballclubs released a joint statement on Monday afternoon.
Joint Statement from the Giants and Jets pic.twitter.com/e8MGmXpimv
— New York Giants (@Giants) July 20, 2020
The pair of organizations have additionally announced that the public will not be allowed to attend training camp or in-season practices either. The Giants train in East Rutherford while the Jets hold their practices over in Florham Park. Both teams will have their respective rookies report to camp on Tuesday of this week.
Nonetheless, the big question still remains: Will the NFL regular season occur as originally planned? Amid this lingering tragedy, it’s hard to believe there won’t be any sort of changes made to the regular-season schedule. The league already cut the preseason in half, so further alterations are definitely possible.
