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Charles Barkley: Shut down March Madness amid coronavirus concerns

Barkley, who works for Turner Sports and CBS, which has TV rights for March Madness, said Turner needs to "bite the bullet."

PHOENIX — Former Phoenix Suns star and NBA analyst Charles Barkley went on ESPN's "Get Up" Thursday morning and said the NCAA Tournament, scheduled to begin next week, should not go on. 

Barkley works for Turner Sports, which has TV rights to the tournament. 

"I'm probably gonna get in trouble...but I think Turner Sports and CBS got to close down March Madness," Barkley said. 

"Even if there's no fans, you can't have these players breathing on each other for two weeks, they're going to be in different cities around the country."

On Thursday morning, all conferences canceled their end-of-season tournaments

The NHL suspended its season, following the NBA's decision to do so on Wednesday. Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League have suspended seasons as well. 

RELATED: NBA suspending season over coronavirus concerns

The MLB canceled spring training Thursday afternoon and delayed the start of the season at least two weeks. 

RELATED: MLB cancels spring training, delays start of season

"My company has got to bite the bullet," Barkley continued. 

After conference tournaments were canceled Thursday, Arizona State University, Duke University, the University of Kansas and the Atlantic Coast Conference all announced they were suspending all sports until further notice due to the COVID-19 situation.

According to multiple reports, there is discussion about postponing the NCAA Tournament, but no decision has been made. 

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