July 2, 2020 | less than a minute read

Will high profile players return?

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Ben Gipson

Partner

Get in touch

Ben Gipson

Partner

As the US starts to see sports coming back, a trend has been high profile players choosing not to participate in the "bubble" tournaments that are being created by the leagues.

While everyone wants to see sports back, and the players certainly want to play, more and more of those who are able to say no, are - which is a trend that may continue across other fields. Top talent may not want to travel to set, top salespeople may not want to get back on the road, and top engineers my feel uncomfortable returning to an office setting.

Now more than ever employers will need contingency plans to account for potential disruptions created by the choices on the risk that every employee will be making in the coming months.

LAFC has yet to say publicly whether its captain, Carlos Vela, the reigning league MVP, will opt out of the tournament to stay home with his pregnant wife. The Galaxy’s Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, whose wife is also pregnant, has said he will play in Florida. But both men are designated players with multi-million contracts who can afford to miss a paycheck. Another Southern California player, who asked to remain anonymous, said he can’t pass up the competition because he needs the money. However he admitted he’s frightened to go to Florida after losing a close relative to the virus in Europe.