(Oklahoma City, OK) USA Softball supports and stands by the decisions made by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee and all necessary officials as it relates to the safety of our athletes and staff for the Tokyo Olympic Games. While we anticipated this news as the COVID-19 outbreak has continued to evolve, it does not make the announcement any less heartbreaking for our athletes, coaches and support staff who have been training day-in and day-out to chase the ultimate dream of representing our country on the highest stage – the Olympic Games. We also would be remiss to not include the millions of fans across the globe who have waited 12 years to see the sport of softball return to the Olympic stage.
We understand the decision was not made lightly and please know that we stand united with the USOPC and our fellow NGBs in support of this decision. Although the wait for our sport’s return to the Olympic Games has been delayed a bit longer, we can’t wait to watch these resilient athletes take the Olympic stage when the day finally comes.
Although today’s news provides some direction to our athletes and staff as it relates to their current training and preparation for the Tokyo Olympic Games, we also know that it creates a new set of questions for our athletes, coaches and fans – questions that unfortunately we do not yet have answers to as this is a fluid situation.
As it relates to the U.S. Olympic Softball Team and the “Stand Beside Her” tour, presented by MLB, there are still a lot of moving pieces and discussions to be had before we can determine appropriate next steps. However, please know that our commitment to the health and safety of our athletes, coaches, umpires, staff/volunteers, families, and fans is of the utmost importance to USA Softball. When details are available for our new Road to Tokyo, we will share updates as soon as we are able to.
We fully stand beside members of our Women’s National Team, our coaches and support staff and will continue to provide our full support on their path to the Tokyo Olympic Games.
For now, we encourage each and every one of you to follow your local and state guidelines and recommendations as we all must do our part to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19. When the time comes that we can get back on the field and play the game we all love, rest assured that we will be ready to “Play Ball”.
– USA Softball
