Gavin Newsom 'not anticipating' normal NFL, college football games in the fall

A shopper wears a mask and shield while shopping. Pedestrians wear masks to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus in San FranciscoÕs Chinatown neighborhood in San Francisco, Calif. on July 28, 2020. A shopper wears a mask and shield while shopping. Pedestrians wear masks to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus in San FranciscoÕs Chinatown neighborhood in San Francisco, Calif. on July 28, 2020. Photo: Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE Photo: Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close Gavin Newsom 'not anticipating' normal NFL, college football games in the fall 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

The NBA, NHL and MLB would all be playing right now if not for the spread of COVID-19, and it now sounds like the NFL may be in jeopardy as well.

During a Saturday press conference, California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that he does not expect normal NFL or college football games to be played in front of full stadiums in the state of California later in the year.

"I'm not anticipating that happening in this state," Newsom said. "We've all seen the headlines over the last couple days in Asia where they opening up certain businesses and now they're starting to roll back those openings because they're starting seeing some spread and there's a boomerang. One has to be very cautious here, one has to be careful not to overpromise."

The governor then stated that an unnamed "well-known football player" asked if the season will happen as originally planned.

"I would move very cautiously in that expectation," Newsom said. "Our decision on that basis here in the State of California will be determined by the facts, will be determined by the health experts, will be determined by our ability to meet this moment and bend the curve ... Right now I'm just focusing on the immediate, but that's not something I anticipate happening in the next few months."

The governor did not address the potential of playing games without fans, but the NFL's chief medical officer has stated that even this scenario would not be possible until players, coaches and essential personnel could all be tested regularly.

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On Friday ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that the NBA is "angling" to cancel the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, the MLB is reportedly exploring playing in empty stadiums since the chances of playing home games with fans over the summer are becoming "increasingly remote."

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Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting