Apprehensive athletes urging caution as return plans take shape

As post-lockdown return plans take shape, many big-name stars admit to concerns about journey into unknown

Chris Thompson is an NFL running back. He also is the father of a 4-month-old daughter, Kali. Guess which of those facts matters more to him when he ponders eventually returning to work amid a pandemic.

"If I go practice or play and I come back home with the virus ... that's my biggest worry," said Thompson, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars this month after seven seasons with the Washington Redskins.

"We're not robots out there," he said. "People out there are saying, 'Hey, with all that's going on, we need sports back in our lives to get our minds off everything.' That's all good. But you've got to think about this, too: When we start back in training camp, you're putting 90 guys from 90 different places all together ... and it happens a lot that a lot of us get sick."

These are the sorts of thoughts those who play the games that people love to watch, discuss and gamble on are grappling with as lockdowns brought about by the coronavirus outbreak begin to ease and various sports resume competition－NASCAR and UFC, for example－or attempt to figure out how to, such as Major League Baseball, the NBA and NHL.

Associated Press reporters spoke to more than two dozen athletes from around the globe－representing seven countries and 11 sports－to get a sense of how concerned or confident they are about resuming competition.

What emerged, above all, was a sense that they are going through the very same sort of calculus that much of the rest of society is: What is safe nowadays? How do I, and my family, stay healthy, especially with no cure or vaccine yet?

"There's certainly an element of the unknown," New Jersey Devils defenseman Connor Carrick said. "This has not been studied all that long still, even though it feels like an eternity some days."

Or as Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who has won nine Grand Slam tennis doubles titles, explained: "It's sort of even tough to gauge what I should be worried about."

Mattek-Sands did say she thinks those in charge of her sport will do their best to protect participants, which matched the general consensus among those AP interviewed.