Amid the continued spread of coronavirus, Augusta National Golf Club on Wednesday announced that the Masters Tournament and its preceding events, the Augusta National Women's Amateur and Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, will go on as planned.

In a letter signed by chairman Fred Ridley, the club said it is "not only monitoring the situation closely, but also consulting with relevant experts, including the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Georgia Department of Public Health and local authorities."

"As a result of this collaboration, and based upon our knowledge of the situation at this time, we are proceeding as scheduled for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals and the Masters Tournament."

The statement comes one week after the PGA of America announced that it was monitoring the situation in San Francisco, site of this year's PGA Championship at Harding Park, and two day afters the PGA Tour released a corona-related statement of its own. 

On Wednesday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, world No. 1 Rory McIlroy was asked to comment on the International Olympic Committee's recent confirmation that this summer's Tokyo Olympics will in fact be conducted as scheduled.

“It's something that we're trying to stay on top of,” he said. “It’s something that if the organizers and the Olympic Committee believe it's safe enough that athletes can go and compete in the Games, then you have to take their word for it."

The Augusta National Women's Amateur is scheduled for April 1-4, with the DCP Finals taking place April 5, and the 84th Masters Tournament set for April 9-12.

Tiger Woods is the defending champion at the year's first major.

U.S. women's World Cup winner Becky Sauerbrunn has been selected as president of the United States Women's National Team Players Association, USWNTPA executive director Becca Roux confirmed to ESPN.

Sauerbrunn, 34, becomes the first to serve in the newly created position with the organization.

Additionally, Kelley O'Hara will serve as vice president-secretary and Samantha Mewis as vice president-treasurer.

All three players were elected this week by the association's voting members to serve as the Executive Committee for 2020. Executive Committee representatives serve for one year, and there are no term limits. This is Sauerbrunn's fifth term on the committee, while O'Hara is in her third term and Mewis is in her second.

"I'm excited to continue representing our PA with Kelley and Sam," Sauerbrunn said. "We have a big year ahead, both on and off the field, and having the trust of our membership is a huge vote of confidence to pursue the goals we've set for the organization."

Certified after the 1999 World Cup, the USWNTPA had not previously defined leadership titles within the Executive Committee but newly amended bylaws created the titles, which were then assigned by members of the committee.

Sauerbrunn has made 174 appearances for the U.S., second among active players behind Carli Lloyd. She will tie former U.S. goalkeeper Briana Scurry for 15th in team history with her next appearance and could become the 12th player to reach 200 appearances.

Currently with the U.S. for the SheBelieves Cup, Sauerbrunn was traded Tuesday from the NWSL's Utah Royals to the Portland Thorns. She was a first-team all-league selection in each of the league's first seven seasons with the Royals and FC Kansas City. She is also a four-time pick as the league's best defender, most recently last season.

Despite that success, Sauerbrunn, who chose Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg when U.S. players selected inspirational figures to honor on the backs of their jerseys during a game in 2019, generally keeps a lower public profile than some teammates. A self-described introvert, her longevity on the Executive Committee and new title as president speak to her influence behind the scenes.

"I think people know that when I speak -- people know that I do pick and choose based on how important I feel that topic is," Sauerbrunn told ESPN last year. "And they listen. I think that's been really nice for me because I always worried when I was younger that it didn't matter what I said, no one was going to pay attention to it."

That led her to take on an active role in the players' ongoing fight for equal pay.

While the USWNTPA is not formally involved in the current lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, Sauerbrunn is one of five players who filed a wage discrimination complaint against the governing body with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016. That complaint proved to be the first step down the legal road that led to the ongoing lawsuit against the federation that was filed last year by 28 members of the national team player pool.

Sauerbrunn, along with Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, is one of four class representatives in that lawsuit. U.S. Soccer opposed their standing as class representatives, arguing each earned more money than male counterparts in the contested period. A federal judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and against the federation on that issue last November.

All sporting events in Italy -- including Serie A football matches -- will take place without fans present for at least the next month due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the Italian government announced Wednesday.

That will likely see games played in the Italian football league this weekend after the calendar was pushed back a week. Italy is the epicenter of Europe's coronavirus outbreak as more than 100 people have died and more than 3,000 have been infected with COVID-19.

The Italian government issued a new decree on Wednesday evening, with measures it hopes will help contain the spread of the virus. All sporting events throughout the country must take place behind closed doors until April 3.

Schools and universities have been ordered to close until March 15. That also calls into question Italy's Six Nations rugby match against England in Rome on March 14. That match will either have to go ahead behind closed doors or be postponed. Italy's match against Ireland, which was scheduled for Saturday, had already been postponed.

The governing body for Serie A has yet to release a revised schedule, but reports say the six league matches that were postponed last week will now be played this weekend.

That includes one of the biggest matches of the season -- the Juventus-Inter Milan game. Four Serie A matches went ahead last weekend with fans present as they were taking place in areas that had not been affected by measures to control the outbreak.

The second leg of Juventus' Coppa Italia match against AC Milan, which was scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed, as was the other semifinal second leg between Napoli and Inter.

A decree on Sunday extended the suspension of all sporting events in Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna until March 8. The region of Lombardy is the epicenter of Italy's outbreak and there are further clusters in the other two northern regions.

Meanwhile in France, Ligue 1 has announced there will be no handshakes between players and officials at upcoming matches as a precautionary measure against the virus spreading in the country.

The French league said in a statement Wednesday that prematch protocol has been modified to help prevent the "spread of the coronavirus."

Players and the match referee will hold young mascots by the shoulder, and not by the hand as usually happens, when the teams enter the field.

Players from each side will line up without their traditional pre-match handshakes, while handshakes between the coaches and match officials are also scrapped.

The total number of cases in France reached 257 by Wednesday, with four deaths, the health ministry said.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.

MEXICO CITY -- Liga MX club Monterrey has launched a complaint with FIFA against its former player Rodolfo Pizarro and his new club Inter Miami, a FIFA spokesperson confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

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The complaint stems from last month's prolonged transfer saga that concluded when Pizarro joined the MLS expansion side, co-owned by David Beckham. Monterrey claimed that Miami broke FIFA rules when Beckham enticed Pizarro to join the club via video-calls while he was still under contract with the Mexican club.

The complaint was lodged on Feb. 15 and the investigation is ongoing, with FIFA declining to provide further details.

A source close to Monterrey confirmed the complaint and added that the matter is in the hands of the club's lawyers, while Inter Miami has yet to respond to ESPN's request for comment.

Pizarro's acrimonious departure from Monterrey began when club director Duilio Davino stressed that he wanted to keep the 26-year-old, but that the full amount of a release clause would have to be met in order for him to leave.

Monterrey then confirmed in a statement on Feb. 12 that Pizarro had unilaterally rescinded his contract. ESPN sources put the transfer fee at close to $12 million USD, almost two million more than Miami was originally quoted by the player's representatives.

But as the difficult transfer looked to be concluding, Pizarro told reporters on leaving Mexico for Miami that he had spoken to Beckham on video-calls about the move.

"He told me that he wanted to count on me. From when he called me via video, it influenced a lot in me taking this decision," Pizarro said on Feb. 13.

Davino suggested in an interview with Fox Sports later that day that such an interaction could constitute a breach of FIFA's transfer regulations, hinting at what is widely known as the "tapping up" of players.

"What does worry me is the topic of the video-call because I don't know if Beckham belongs to the front office of the club, [but] he shouldn't be speaking to players that have a contract," said Davino, also on Feb. 13. "It's not unjust, it breaks the rules. I don't know [if we'll take action], that's in the hands of the lawyers."

Miami sporting director Paul McDonough stated on Feb. 16 that the club had not broken FIFA rules and the club announced Pizarro as a Designated Player the following day.

The club made its MLS debut last weekend, falling 1-0 to LAFC, with Pizarro playing the full 90 minutes.

The complaint comes at a time in which MLS and Liga MX are working closely in partnership with a joint Leagues Cup, a Liga MX vs. MLS all-star game in the summer and a variety of other off-field projects.

All sporting events in Italy -- including Serie A football matches -- will take place without fans present for at least the next month due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the Italian government announced Wednesday.

That will likely see games played in the Italian football league this weekend after the calendar was pushed back a week. Italy is the epicenter of Europe's coronavirus outbreak as more than 100 people have died and more than 3,000 have been infected with COVID-19.

The Italian government issued a new decree on Wednesday evening, with measures it hopes will help contain the spread of the virus. All sporting events throughout the country must take place behind closed doors until April 3.

Schools and universities have been ordered to close until March 15. That also calls into question Italy's Six Nations rugby match against England in Rome on March 14. That match will either have to go ahead behind closed doors or be postponed. Italy's match against Ireland, which was scheduled for Saturday, had already been postponed.

The governing body for Serie A has yet to release a revised schedule, but reports say the six league matches that were postponed last week will now be played this weekend.

That includes one of the biggest matches of the season -- the Juventus-Inter Milan game. Four Serie A matches went ahead last weekend with fans present as they were taking place in areas that had not been affected by measures to control the outbreak.

The second leg of Juventus' Coppa Italia match against AC Milan, which was scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed, as was the other semifinal second leg between Napoli and Inter.

A decree on Sunday extended the suspension of all sporting events in Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna until March 8. The region of Lombardy is the epicenter of Italy's outbreak and there are further clusters in the other two northern regions.

Meanwhile in France, Ligue 1 has announced there will be no handshakes between players and officials at upcoming matches as a precautionary measure against the virus spreading in the country.

The French league said in a statement Wednesday that prematch protocol has been modified to help prevent the "spread of the coronavirus."

Players and the match referee will hold young mascots by the shoulder, and not by the hand as usually happens, when the teams enter the field.

Players from each side will line up without their traditional pre-match handshakes, while handshakes between the coaches and match officials are also scrapped.

The total number of cases in France reached 257 by Wednesday, with four deaths, the health ministry said.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.

A former University of Michigan wrestler filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday alleging the school ignored warnings that former team doctor Robert Anderson was sexually abusing his patients.

The anonymous plaintiff wrestled at Michigan from 1984 to 1989. According to the lawsuit, he first was violated by Anderson as a 17-year-old freshman, and Anderson continued to molest and grope him on a regular basis during the remainder of his time as a student-athlete.

"One illustrative incident is when plaintiff scratched his arm while wrestling on the mat during a summer training session, and he was told by leadership to see Anderson about the bleeding," the lawsuit states.

"During his appointment for his arm, Anderson told plaintiff to drop his pants, and Anderson sexually assaulted, abused and molested" him, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says the plaintiff is seeking compensation as well as "other declaratory, equitable, and/or injunctive relief, including, but not limited to implementation of institutional reform and measures of accountability to ensure the safety and protection of young athletes and other individuals."

The wrestler's attorney, Mike Cox, told ESPN that he and 10 former Michigan athletes met with officials from the school Wednesday morning. After the meeting "went nowhere," Cox said they decided a lawsuit was necessary, adding that he expects to file lawsuits on behalf of at least 10 more clients in the coming days.

"They feel betrayed," Cox said.

More than 100 others have contacted Michigan in the past two weeks with complaints about Anderson. The university established a public hotline for calls about the doctor in late February on the same day that The Detroit News published the first public complaints made about him.

Anderson worked at the university from 1968 through 2003, including decades during which he treated athletes on the football and wrestling teams, among others.

Tad Deluca, who wrestled for Michigan in the 1970s, said at a news conference last week that he alerted his former coach and former athletic director to Anderson's abuse in 1975. He said he was ostracized for raising his concerns and ultimately lost his scholarship and his spot on the wrestling team.

Wrestlers, football players, hockey players and other students not involved in athletics have also said they were abused by Anderson.

"Their coaches would all joke around about Dr. A," Cox told ESPN. "Everyone knew about it."

Deluca contacted current athletic director Warde Manuel by letter in 2018 to explain what happened to him during his time as a Michigan athlete. That letter eventually prompted a police investigation that found some former university employees missed warning signs about Anderson. Prosecutors in Washtenaw County declined to press charges, largely because Anderson died more than a decade ago.

University president Mark Schlissel apologized to all victims of Anderson in a statement last month. The school has hired a D.C.-based law firm to investigate how the university handled past complaints about Anderson.

"The university engaged a firm with deep expertise to conduct an independent, thorough, and unflinching review of the facts -- wherever they may lead," university spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said in a statement last week. "Through the work of this independent firm, there will be a full, public accounting of the harms caused by Anderson as well as the institutional failings that allowed him to keep practicing."

Deluca said he was sexually assaulted by Anderson when he visited him for an elbow injury. The anonymous plaintiff said in Wednesday's lawsuit that Anderson made him drop his pants and digitally penetrated him when he visited the doctor to get help with the cut on his arm.

Parker Stinar, an attorney who represents Deluca and at least 12 other clients, scheduled a news conference Wednesday evening to share information about his recent discussion with Michigan officials. Stinar has not yet filed a lawsuit on behalf of his clients.

A trio of law firms that represented hundreds of victims in the Larry Nassar sexual assault case at nearby Michigan State are also planning a news conference for later this week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

With two weeks until he becomes a free agent, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said Wednesday during an Instagram livestream with UFC president Dana White, "I don't know what the future holds."

"Right now, I'm just trying to be patient through this process. It's my first time going through it," Brady told White in an appearance to promote an upcoming UFC fight. "In the meantime, I'm going to spend a lot of time with my family over the next 10 to 12 days. We have a little vacation planned, which I'm looking forward to."

Brady has spoken with Patriots coach Bill Belichick recently, and the talks were described as "business as usual" with the club proceeding as it normally does, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

During his Instagram livestream, Brady said, "Obviously being where I've been for 20 years, it's been an amazing experience."

Brady's agents can negotiate with other teams starting March 16 at noon ET. The official start of free agency is March 18 at 4 p.m. ET.

Can anyone top the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference?

The Bucks are once again on a historic pace, with a real chance to top 70 wins. Should they be the favorites over the rest of the East field to make the NBA Finals? What are the biggest things to watch before the end of the regular season? And what potential first-round playoff matchup would be the most exciting?

Our NBA experts answer the big questions about the likely East playoff teams.

MORE: Latest NBA Power Rankings

1. What will you be paying the most attention to among the East playoff teams during the rest of the regular season?

Jorge Sedano: Did the Miami Heat give the league a blueprint on how best to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo this season? How many teams will try a similar strategy, and how many can actually be successful? What will the Heat become as they develop more chemistry with their new additions and get healthier? Lastly, how do the Philadelphia 76ers finish the season? Due to a mismatched roster and injuries, they seem to be a ship that has lost its rudder.

Bobby Marks: Which teams get to the finish line in one piece? For the 76ers, getting Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid healthy is the priority, even over favorable seeding. But all of the top teams have lost key players to injuries at some point this season.

Tim Bontemps: Can the Bucks become the third team to win 70 games? Can Victor Oladipo show signs of returning to his old self? Can the 76ers get healthy? And who will win the race for No. 2 between the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics? Whichever team does will be the favorite to face Milwaukee in the conference finals.

André Snellings: The 5/6 battle between the Indiana Pacers and the 76ers. In this instance, the sixth seed might be preferred because it keeps a team outside of the Bucks' bracket until the East finals. And for a wildly talented but unpredictable team like the 76ers, a romp from the sixth seed to the Finals is possible.

Kevin Pelton: Who finishes second, a competitive race with huge stakes. Not only will it determine home-court advantage if Boston and Toronto meet in the second round, it also entails a much easier opening-round matchup against either the Brooklyn Nets or Orlando Magic, rather than Indiana or Philadelphia. Don't tell the Celtics or Raptors that the rest of the regular season is meaningless.

2. What East first-round playoff matchup would you most want to see?

Snellings: I'd be eager to see Celtics vs. 76ers at some point. These are two young, talented teams with history between them. Al Horford moving to the other side of the matchup is intriguing. The Sixers have some of the best young size in the NBA, while the Celtics are chock full of young, talented wings. This would be an uber-exciting matchup.

Bontemps: Not the first round, but Toronto vs. Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals -- a matchup that somehow hasn't happened yet in the playoffs. It would be a really fun series to watch play out, with two deep, smart, well-coached teams capable of playing in a variety of different ways.

Pelton: Miami-Philadelphia. Since the Sixers won the first head-to-head matchup in November by 27 points, the Heat's zone defense has given Philadelphia fits. How that evolves over the course of a seven-game series would be fascinating to watch.

Sedano: Miami vs. Philadelphia. Jimmy Butler clearly is enjoying trying to purchase property in the Sixers' heads, especially after the social media exchange with Embiid recently. Butler seems intent on making them regret he's no longer there. These fan bases don't like each other, either, which always adds a layer of intrigue.

Marks: Philadelphia vs. anybody. We can likely pencil in the Sixers for the 4, 5 or 6 seed. That means the 76ers could be looking at starting Round 1 on the road vs. Boston, Toronto or Miami. Despite a starting five that ranks among the league's best (at least on paper), the 76ers have struggled away from home (9-22) and could be out of the playoffs before we even enter May.

3. What East finals matchup do you expect to see?

Bontemps: Milwaukee vs. whichever of Toronto or Boston finishes in second place. That potential Eastern Conference semifinal will likely hinge on whichever team can secure home court. And you have to expect the Bucks will make it there without much difficulty -- especially if Philadelphia isn't at full strength.

Marks: Milwaukee vs. the No. 2 seed. Getting the second seed is the equivalent to receiving a bye in the first round -- no offense to Orlando or Brooklyn, but Milwaukee and either Toronto or Boston will be looking at a potential sweep in Round 1. Meanwhile, the other two series could be steel-cage matches. So if the Raptors find themselves at No. 2, we could be looking at a repeat of last year's Eastern Conference finals.

Sedano: Milwaukee vs. Boston. Jayson Tatum's ascension has been extraordinary to watch. Jaylen Brown is also a tantalizing young talent. Kemba Walker seems to be giving the Celtics everything they wanted from Kyrie Irving but with fewer frustrations. As much as I think the Bucks may have some flaws that teams can expose, Antetokounmpo's incredible talent and their depth will be hard to overcome.

Pelton: Milwaukee vs. whoever gets the second seed, which at this point would slightly favor the Celtics, according to projections from FiveThirtyEight and ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Snellings: Bucks vs. Raptors. If healthy, the Raptors still have the same combination of size, defense, shooting and talent that won them a championship last season. Yes, Kawhi Leonard is gone, but the Raptors have shown they had a lot besides him. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet in particular have made major strides to keep the team at a contending level.

4. Bucks vs. the East field: Who are you taking to make the NBA Finals?

Marks: The field. It is hard to bet against a Milwaukee team that is on pace to win 65-plus games and have potentially the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in Antetokounmpo. However, as we learned last season, a seven-game playoff series is much different than the marathon of 82 games. The playoffs are all about having a closer, and I am not ready to anoint Antetokounmpo as that. Plus, this field of teams is the deepest in the East in years. Of course, Milwaukee might just run through the East (the Bucks do have a plus-12.3 point differential), making the question of late-game execution moot.

Sedano: It's with some trepidation I'll go with the Bucks. Not a lot of teams in the East can employ Miami's strategy to guard Antetokounmpo, mostly because they don't have a guy like Bam Adebayo, who can stay in front of him and make his life difficult.

Bontemps: Milwaukee. I still have doubts about the Bucks. Mike Budenholzer needs to get it done in the playoffs, as does Eric Bledsoe. But the sheer dominance with which the Bucks have played this season has to tip the scales in their favor until something changes the equation.

Pelton: Milwaukee. Even if you have reservations about whether the Bucks' regular-season dominance will translate entirely to the playoffs, the Bucks will have the best player in every series and won't face any team that looks as formidable as last year's Raptors. They should be -- and are -- heavy, heavy favorites to win the East.

Snellings: Milwaukee. There is a gap between the Bucks and everyone else in terms of quality. They can be defeated if a team shoots lights out from the arc, walls off Giannis from the paint and finds the Bucks' shooters on a cold streak -- but that's a hard combination to achieve.

5. How many serious NBA title contenders are in the East?

Bontemps: It's hard to say anyone besides Milwaukee, given how far ahead of the field the Bucks appear at the moment. But I'll add in the Celtics. Tatum is playing the way people assumed he could since his breakout performance as a rookie, and Boston has been winning in bunches lately with Walker mostly watching from the sidelines.

Sedano: Two: Milwaukee and Boston. Philly could get into the mix if everything came together, but I'm not holding my breath. The Heat are one player away from being a legitimate title contender. Toronto deserves a ton of credit for its title defense. The Raptors play so hard and smart, and are well coached, but I don't believe they are in the class of Milwaukee and Boston.

Marks: Five. Milwaukee, Toronto, Boston, Miami and -- yes -- Philadelphia have the right stuff to win the championship. I hate to leave Indiana off the list, but the injury to Jeremy Lamb with Oladipo still finding his way after returning from his knee injury has the Pacers missing the cut.

Snellings: The Bucks are the only Eastern team I'd expect to win the title. If the Raptors, Celtics or Heat represent the East, I'd expect an entertaining Finals but would likely favor the West. The wild card is the 76ers, who are talented but inconsistent -- if they represent the East, that indicates they've gotten their act together.

Pelton: I guess that depends on how you define serious, but I would say 3.5: Milwaukee, Boston and Toronto, and I would still give Philadelphia that kind of upside in a best-case scenario if Simmons is healthy for the playoffs.

Trevor Bauer has been one of Rob Manfred's most vocal critics, but on Wednesday the Cincinnati Reds pitcher and the MLB commissioner met and the meeting was "very productive," the right-hander tweeted.

Bauer tweeted about the meeting after he had already spoken with reporters at the team's spring training complex in Goodyear, Arizona.

"I've been publicly critical of Rob Manfred before, but I have to give him props. He said he'd meet with any players who had further questions and he was a man of his word this morning. We had a very productive meeting about a wide range of topics," Bauer wrote.

Bauer most recently criticized Manfred after reports that MLB was mulling significant changes to its postseason that would increase the number of teams from 10 to 14 and add a reality TV-type format to determine which teams play each other in an expanded wild-card round.

Bauer first ripped Manfred on Twitter when he said "Rob is responsible for releasing it" and called him "a joke." He then defended his stance against the proposed idea when asked by reporters last month. Bauer had offered to meet with Manfred to go over his ideas that MLB should stop worrying about time of games and instead market its players better.

Manfred told ESPN's Karl Ravech last month that "there is no way I would speak about a major league player like that," when asked about Bauer's tweet.

On Wednesday, Bauer also explained why he was intentionally tipping his pitches in Monday's outing against the Dodgers' Matt Beaty. When Beaty came to the plate, Bauer indicated which pitch he would be throwing by signaling to the infielder with his glove. Beaty flied out in the at-bat.

"It was an inside story that I can't tell you guys, but just having fun, joking around," Bauer said Wednesday, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Bauer said it had nothing to do with the Astros' sign-stealing scandal. He has been outspoken in his criticism of the Astros' actions in using video to steal signs.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger on Wednesday declared himself "100%" and said he has returned to practicing with the team.

The reigning National League MVP said he took swings Wednesday and felt no issues with his back.

Bellinger said he simply had a "knot" in his back and was adamant he did not injure himself swinging at golf balls at Albert Pujols' annual charity event Sunday at Topgolf in Scottsdale, Arizona.

MLB had tweeted out video of Bellinger and Mike Trout launching golf balls.

He said he understands why there was speculation he hurt himself swinging a golf club, "but that wasn't the case."

Bellinger was not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's spring training game against the Giants, however.