Puerto Rico Tip-Off will relocate to Orlando due to Zika concerns
This season’s Puerto Rico Tip-Off won’t actually be played in Puerto Rico.
ESPN announced Monday that it’s moving the annual holiday tournament from San Juan to Orlando because of concerns over the Zika Virus.
“We enjoy the beauty and accommodations that are afforded in Puerto Rico and wanted to make every effort in playing the event in San Juan, but the concern for student-athlete and spectator welfare became the primary driver in the decision,” Pete Derzis, senior vice president of ESPN Events, said in a statement. “We intend to return to Puerto Rico in the future.”
The tournament will still take place Nov. 17-20 and feature the same eight teams as previously announced. Oklahoma and Xavier highlight the field, while Arizona State, Clemson, Davidson, Missouri, Northern Iowa and Tulane will also participate.
Primarily spread by mosquitoes, the Zika Virus is a major concern for pregnant women, women who are actively trying to get pregnant and their partners. The disease can be transmitted sexually and can spread from a pregnant woman to a fetus, resulting in microcephaly, severe brain malformations and other birth defects.
It’s understandable that players and staffers would have concerns about traveling to Puerto Rico considering the prevalence of the virus there. As of Sept. 23, the Puerto Rico Department of Health reported 22,358 cases of Zika exposure, 1,871 of which have affected pregnant women.
Of course, Orlando is somewhat of an ironic choice as a relocation site. So far there have been three confirmed cases of Zika in Florida, though none were in the Orlando area and each affected people who had traveled in Venezuela and Colombia.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
