President Donald Trump met with leaders from major sports leagues on Saturday that have been largely shuttered to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
The meeting came hours before Trump's daily news briefing with the White House coronavirus task force. The news briefing is slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Trump met with the leaders from the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, MLS, NASCAR, WWE, PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, UFC, WNBA, IndyCar and Breeders Cup.
According to a White House spokesperson, Trump recognized the good work being done by many teams and players to care for their communities, workforces, and fan bases across the nation.
The spokesperson said the commissioners thanked Trump for his leadership and for his interest in the sports industry.
Around the middle of March, most of the aforementioned leagues decided to shutter operations amid the spread of the coronavirus. On March 11, the NCAA announced that it would play NCAA men's and women's basketball tournament games without fans. But the dominoes quickly fell after that.
Later that night, Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 moments before tipoff in an NBA game between the Jazz and Thunder. That game was postponed and later that night, the NBA announced it was suspending play.
The next day, the NHL and MLB suspended play, and the NCAA canceled its remaining championships for the 2019-20 academic year.
While most leagues have suspended operations, the WWE has continued operations by conducting wrestling matches in front of no fans. WWE's signature annual event WrestleMania will air tomorrow night. Rather than being aired live before a packed stadium, WrestleMania was prerecorded in front of no spectators.