“I think that pretty much everything sporting-wise for 2020 is cancelled.”

Ato Boldon doesn’t put water in his mouth on any issue. His straightforward assertion at the start of a Morning Edition interview on TV6 last Friday may not come to pass, but at least it is forthright enough on what should really be our priorities at this unprecedented time.

Are we really prepared to risk a spike in COVID-19 infections and possible increase in fatalities somewhere in the world, all for the sake of something as trivial and irrelevant (even more so now) as sport?

Yes, I can hear many going on about how this presumably inconsequential exercise pumps so much money into different economies and provides jobs at all levels of society which would not otherwise be available. Then there is the feel-good factor which sport provides. The entertainment, the adrenaline rush and opportunity to escape, if only briefly, the challenges of our increasingly restricted lifestyles.

All very valid and deserving of consideration. So again, is any of that worth the pandemic re-establishing a foothold somewhere or tightening a grip in a region or country where it has already cost thousands of human lives? And that’s the thing. Sometimes we subconsciously relegate the lives of the lowest of the low to the level of sub-human, collateral damage, a price that unfortunately has to be paid so that the more important people, the well-off and the well-connected can get what they want.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper of London, American basketball star Jaylen Brown expressed his pride that the National Basketball Association has prioritised the safety of fans and players. But he went way beyond the confines of the courts and the impressive stadia which house them.

“During the downtime we can work on making a more just society My greatest hope is that during this isolation we become more unified than ever,” said the Boston Celtics guard. “Ponder the suffering from other epidemics which have plagued this nation (United States) and our planet. Social inequality, gender inequality, inequality in education, poverty, lack of resources, cultural biases and other various societal imbalances that have yet to be vaccinated.”

Many of Brown’s references resonate with us right here. Just see and feel the level of desperation among so many of our citizens lining up for food hampers or any sort of relief they can get to alleviate their crippling circumstances. This has become an increasingly unequal society over the decades of plenty and waste and corruption and squandermania, the degree of that inequity becoming increasingly apparent as the money dries up.

At least we don’t have to endure an insufferable egotist at the helm of our politics.

But back to sport, and trying to get anything going out there to put on television so the huge sums paid for transmission rights won’t have to be paid back to broadcasters, even if it means staging events behind closed doors.

“I can tell you from our own internal testing (at American network NBC) we have done it, and I think that people who think they want to see sports without fans I think they are mistaken, “said Boldon, who has transitioned with enormous success from a medal-winning Olympian and 200-metre world champion to a frontline sports commentator of international repute. “You may think you want it but, trust me, a sporting event with absolutely no fans in the stands is the worst thing you’ve ever seen. I thought I would like it and I have gotten to see some in the last couple of weeks and I go: ‘Oh no, this is worse.’ I don’t know if that’s a viable solution.”

All of which means that Test cricket, which has played out for many years in various parts of the world to a backdrop of rows and rows of empty seats, may actually have a realistic chance of a re-start, assuming we get to the stage where spectator attendance, or lack thereof, becomes the determining factor.

It’s even been suggested that the suffering millions in that cricket-crazy nation of India will actually welcome any Indian Premier League action to bring some smiles to their faces. Tell that to those trekking long distancesÑin some cases almost 200 milesÑfrom the major cities because they have no jobs, no money and no hope other than getting back to their home villages.

Obviously lengthy restrictions on movement will take a toll on us, psychologically and otherwise. Boredom can set in very quickly as there are only so many times you can watch replays of a favourite game or most memorable sporting moment. Be grateful though if you have food on the table, money in your pocket and your family safe and healthy.

COVID-19 is pushing sport further down the batting order of real priorities.