What are we watching? COVID puts fairness, quality in limbo

By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer

The coronavirus pandemic and the onslaught of the omicron variant have forced a rapid rethinking of policies as the NFL, NBA and NHL try to protect their schedules, their players and fans, along with their bottom lines. While the policies are recalibrated, fans have mostly avoided the question that first hit us hard in the dark days of March 2020: Are we so thirsty for entertainment that we’ll risk everything — or watch anything — simply to make it feel like normal? Back then, the answer was “no.” Leagues abandoned their schedules, well aware that there was too much uncertainty, and the risks were too high, to keep pretending sports could run like business as usual. Now that sports are back, no league appears prepared to turn away again.