Team USA will no longer player an exhibition game against Australia on Friday. Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news on Thursday evening via Twitter.
“Team USA-Australia game on Friday in Las Vegas has been canceled,” he tweeted.
“Health and safety protocols force cancellation of USA-Australia exhibition game on Friday. Team USA will conclude its exhibition schedule vs. Spain on Sunday.”
This week, Team USA has reportedly had two players, Bradley Beal and Jerami Grant, sidelined due to COVID-19. Grant will remain COVID-19 protocols for the foreseeable future and return to play with the team in Tokyo, Japan. In contrast, Beal is expected to remain in COVID-19 protocols and miss the 2021 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan later this month. Thus far, Team USA has not named a replacement for Beal.
A small COVID-19 breakout within Team USA is particularly frightening considering there is an uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases in 46 U.S. states. Adding on, there have been a number of COVID-19 scares among Olympic village workers and incoming athletes.
“This is extremely troubling because I am fairly sure that these cases are just the tip of the iceberg,” Japan Association of Infectious Diseases President Kazuhiro Tateda said.
Despite a rise in COVID-19 cases in America and several other nations, the 2021 Summer Olympic Games are set to begin on July 23.
Health and safety protocols force cancellation of USA-Australia exhibition game on Friday. Team USA will conclude its exhibition schedule vs. Spain on Sunday. https://t.co/dRcr4dMjqT
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 16, 2021
