Duke Removes Itself From NCAA Tournament and Suspends All Athletics Due to Coronavirus

When it was announced the ACC Tournament would be canceled, fans started to see just how seriously universities planned to take the spread of COVID-19. On Thursday afternoon, Duke decided to take things one step further. Make that a giant step.

The school has announced, effective immediately, that all athletics activities will be stopped. Yes, that means Duke has voluntarily removed itself from the Men's NCAA Tournament, which still intends to occur, sans-crowd. Unprecedented.

"We are taking this action to protect the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and others who are essential to these activities," Duke president Vincent E. Price said in a statement. "I know it is a great disappointment to our student-athletes and coaches, whose hard work and dedication to their sports and Duke is inspirational to so many, but we must first look out for their health and well-being."

While the news feels like a bit of a stunner, given how prestigious Duke athletics is, Price clearly had no choice but to make this decision. With NBA stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell testing positive for coronavirus, higher ups want to make sure the risk is at a minimum for players, coaches and everyone involved with a team. It doesn't matter if it's at the professional or collegiate level, safety is No. 1 right now.

While Duke men's hoops (25-6) had hopes of competing for another National Championship this year, Mike Krzyzewski and Co. have other things to worry about. While a natty would have been nice, for now, that's not on anyone's mind in Durham.