coronavirus

Sixers Postpone Youth Foundation Gala Because of Coronavirus Precaution

The Sixers announced Sunday that the team's fifth annual Youth Foundation Gala has been postponed "out of an abundance of caution" in response to the new coronavirus outbreak.

The event, which was set to take place Monday night at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, will be rescheduled at a later date. Musical artist T-Pain was scheduled to perform, while Hall of Famers Allen Iverson and Julius Erving were among those planning to attend. 

During this period of increased focus on public health due to COVID-19, teams and players across professional sports have been advised by leagues and public health officials to exercise caution with high fives, handshakes, and other personal interactions to best protect the health and well-being of all," the team said in a press release.

"As such, the decision to postpone was made to ensure we can preserve and deliver sometime in the future an intimate event where attendees can expect to interact with our athletes with photos, autographs and personal conversations.

Silent auction bidding will continue through Wednesday. The event has raised over $1 million in each of the past two years for the Sixers Youth Foundation, according to the team. 

The NBA reportedly has sent out a memo to teams asking them to prepare for the possibility of playing games without fans in attendance because of the coronavirus outbreak. 

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