With the outbreak of the coronavirus, Major League teams had their players stop signing autographs. Instead, they had players pre-sign items to toss to the crowd.

In an unprecedented move, the MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLS released a joint statement informing they’re closing clubhouses to non-essential personnel. That even includes reporters. That came at the suggestion of the CDC.

The goal is to keep everyone six to eight feet away from the players to try to prevent the risk of infection. This is both smart and responsible. We need to see more of this.

While the professional sports leagues are taking measures to protect their players, as well they should, they’re not yet doing the same for their fans.

There aren’t similar protocols for fans. Quite possibly, that’s because you can’t do that while having fans still attend games. It’s really not possible to have fans sitting six to eight feet from one another.

You can’t do that, nor can you keep them that far away from one another. Not with bathrooms and concessions. It’s just not happening.

The ultimate question for leagues like MLB is what should they do. Do you cancel games? Do you have play games in empty ballparks? Seriously, what can they reasonably do here?

The Ivy Leagues took the measure to cancel their conference tournament, but they’re still sending teams to the NCAA Tournament. That’s a highly contradictory measure, and it is one which reeks of hoping a few weeks will solve the problem for them. Maybe, they’re right.

As fans, we can only do what we feel is right.

If you’re a fan who feels this is over-hyped, go to games. Have fun. At the moment, no one is stopping you.

If you’re a fan who is nervous for various reasons, don’t go to games. Eat the money on the tickets if you must. If you’re that concerned, stay home.

In the end, you have to do what’s right. On that note, MLB needs to start doing what’s right.

The Devils are asking fans in these categories not to attend tonight’s game or any others the rest of the season pic.twitter.com/irADTDhiSb

— Abbey Mastracco (@AbbeyMastracco) March 10, 2020

The Devils and other teams are urging caution. It’s a start, but there needs to be more.

Teams should begin issuing refunds or credits to fans for early season games. If they’re that concerned about the virus they’re restricting fan and reporter access to players, they should be also be willing to allow fans to choose another game to attend later in the season.

More importantly, it’s long past time to lift blackout restrictions.

MLB has fans who are not going to be able to travel to games like they once could. That’s a result of both fear and quarantines. It’s insanely stupid for a sports league to restrict access to games period, and it’s dumber when television and streaming are the only two means to watch and follow games.

In the end, MLB has done right by its players in the face of the coronavirus. Now, it’s time to do right by their fans. It’s time to start issuing refunds/credits and lifting blackout restrictions.