There’s a story at The Daily Beast this morning titled “The NBA Might Lock Reporters Inside Its Disney Bubble for 3.5 Months.”

That could either be terrible or amazing, depending on how much you enjoy being around your family.

Here are the key passages from the article:

According to an email sent by Josh Robbins, the president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association, the answer is that the NBA will allow a select group of journalists onto the premises—but they will be stuck there the whole time and such a privilege won’t come cheaply.

The email, which was sent to all PBWA members on June 3 and labeled “an off-the-record communication not to be reported on in any form,” stressed that negotiations were ongoing and subject to change. For the moment, however, it revealed that the NBA plans to divide the press into two distinct “tiers.” The first, smaller tier would reside “in the bubble,” Robbins wrote. Once they are brought into this contained environment, first-tier reporters would be tested daily, and permitted to interact with players and coaches. “This group will have the most access,” he added, “but will work under far greater restrictions than we are used to under normal conditions.” They would not be allowed to re-enter if they break quarantine at any point over the months-long resumption of play.

Members of the press would be fed, though their housing expenses would not be covered by the NBA nor their Disney hosts, making the price tag “cost-prohibitive for most outlets,” the memo stated. Those reporters who work for media companies unable to shoulder this expense or those unwilling to be separated from their families for that length of time would be shunted into the larger, second tier. These reporters would be allowed to attend the games in person, but would not be allowed onto the Disney/ESPN campus. “In person, face-to-face interactions” with any players, coaches, or team staff would be prohibited altogether.

This is really dumb. Sports media is not that important. We do not provide an “essential” service and don’t need to be at these games. Just give us Brett Brown or the players every third day on a Zoom call and that will provide enough of an opportunity to ask questions and get quotes and write stories.

Otherwise it’s a waste of time and money, and people will complain about whether they’re a “first tier” or “second tier” reporter, as if it really matters. A lot of outlets that would be end up having “second tier” media are doing work that’s better than what the legacy newspapers and TV stations put out anyway. ESPN can send a couple of national reporters down to Orlando if they want. The rest of us can watch the games, do the Zoom calls, and write about what we see happening on the court without having to use bland quotes as a crutch.

Sports writers are just gonna have to take a temporary backseat here. We’re in a pandemic and the circumstances are what they are. Let’s get through COVID and then we’ll be back at the practice facilities and arenas next year. The world will survive without us standing six feet away from Ben Simmons and saying “talk about your performance tonight.”