Didn’t J.K. Rowling, Noam Chomsky, Margaret Atwood and a few more people just sign an open-letter unironically canceling “cancel culture”? Yet, here we are. As some may remember, the Ivy League made headlines this past spring as the first conference to cancel their basketball tournament ahead of March Madness.

With the COVID-19 pandemic unsolved and spiking in certain areas of the United States, the Ivy League is leading the charge once again, canceling all fall sports for 2020. This potentially clears a path for more Division 1 schools to hop aboard, mirroring the original surge and eventual cancellation of March Madness.

By opting out of fall competition, the Ivy League isn’t planning to address the possible return of athletic events until at least January 1, 2021.

This is the latest domino to fall in the collegiate sports world in relation to the Coronavirus. Stanford University unveiled a plan to eliminate 11 of 36 sanctioned varsity sports upon the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year.

As players begin to report, multiple football programs conducting practices have yielded positive tests for the virus. That was always a possibility. However, the process upon receiving a positive test remains unclear, foggy at best. The likelihood of playing again once the semester begins seems to diminish as we near crucial dates for any potential return.

The lack of conformity of states, universities and athletic programs has acted as the greatest detractor thus far, seemingly making a return near impossible. We’re holding out hope as best we can, but today’s news out of the Ivy League only serves our pessimistic consciences.

Maybe it’s an unnecessary precaution, but this smells like the beginning of a disappointing trend.