XFL cancels 2020 season amid coronavirus outbreak

The XFL has canceled its inaugural season due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Update March 20, 2020:

The XFL announced on Twitter it has officially canceled the remainder of the season.

This post was originally published March 12, 2020 as follows.

Another league has suspended play due to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

Following the lead of MLB, NHL, MLS, NCAA and others, the XFL has decided to suspend its 2020 season indefinitely. The league was only halfway through its docket, having played five weeks of a 10-game schedule.

The XFL was trying to gain a foothold in spring football for the second time, albeit under a completely different branding this time around. The first such endeavor from the XFL came in 2001, when WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon started the league in partnership with NBC. It lasted all of one season.

This edition was founded in 2018 and came along with a well-though out strategy. Commissioner Oliver Luck is overseeing the eight-team league, including the Dallas Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Los Angeles Wildcats, Seattle Dragons, D.C. Defenders, New York Guardians, Tampa Bay Vipers and St. Louis BattleHawks.

Should the season be resumed, it remains to be seen when that would happen, and if fans will be allowed back into the stadiums.

As for the future, it’s unclear whether the league will finish out the campaign. It’s also unknown whether the XFL will be able to continue operations going forward, although there have been no declarations that the league as a whole is in jeopardy.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.