Some professional and college sports teams were stuck on runways, or opting to pile into buses, ahead of games this weekend that are now uncertain due to the nationwide ground stop that was lifted Friday night.
Markwayne Mullin, the secretary of homeland security, said at a news conference on Friday that the ground stop was caused by technology upgrades “overwhelming” the flight communication system. Thousands of flights have been canceled, but no high-profile games have been affected so far, ahead of what is set to be a busy weekend in sports.
Dozens of teams had made it out of airports just ahead of the stop. But the N.B.A.’s Brooklyn Nets were not so lucky.
The Athletic reported that the Nets were stuck on a team plane on Friday. They have a game Saturday night against the Memphis Grizzles.
Also stuck at an airport was the University of Texas Longhorns football team, slated to play Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., on Saturday night. Minutes before the stoppage, the Longhorns posted a video of players boarding a plane with the caption “Bayou bound.”
Both teams are in the Southeastern Conference, which said in a statement that it would work “to determine whether any adjustments to scheduled competitions become necessary.”
Source: www.nytimes.com
