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The 2021 Pro Bowl has officially been canceled. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NFL has announced that the annual all-star game set to take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada has been scrapped.
Because of the forced cancelation, the league will be awarding the 2022 Pro Bowl to the Las Vegas Raiders.
“The Pro Bowl originally was slated to be played in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium on Jan. 31. The 2022 Pro Bowl will be awarded to Las Vegas, per the league,” the NFL said in a statement.
“The league also announced that it is working with the NFLPA and other partners to create other virtual activities to replace the game. Fans will still be able to vote for players to the Pro Bowl roster starting Nov. 17 and the full rosters will be revealed in December.
“The Pro Bowl is the latest event on the NFL calendar to be affected by COVID-19.”
By cancelling the 2021 Pro Bowl, the league will allow an extra vacant week prior to the Super Bowl in case further games are forced to be postponed due to COVID-19.
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 7.53 million confirmed cases and 214,000 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
