Fans rip Adam Silver after Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were ruled out of NBA All-Star Game

Last year, the NBA’s response to the coronavirus pandemic served as a model for professional sports leagues. The league held a restarted season and entire postseason in a bubble setting and had zero positive cases of COVID-19.

But for the 2020-21 season, the league felt that holding an entire season in a bubble setting was untenable, opting instead to have teams travel with coronavirus protocols in place. As expected, there have been some positive COVID cases, but thus far, teams have generally taken the protocols seriously and avoided a major stoppage.

And yet, despite all the precautions in place during the regular season, Adam Silver thought it would be fine to hold an All-Star Game in Atlanta — even amid objections from players.

It was a terrible idea when the plans were announced, and on Sunday, the situation got even worse.

Due to contact tracing, the NBA ruled out Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for Sunday’s All-Star Game. The league is not expected to replace the players. And with just hours before tipoff, fans waited no time to rip the league for even holding an All-Star Game during a pandemic.