Citing health guidelines for mass gatherings and community events, major sports leagues discussed plans to keep reporters out of players’ locker rooms until the virus has been contained, according to multiple media reports.

The NHL was the first to act on that guidance and at several games Saturday held media availability in news conferences. The NBA is reportedly considering a similar policy. It told teams to prepare to play games in empty arenas in the coming weeks, if the coronavirus does not abate.

Major League Baseball in a statement said it was “undertaking many precautions currently,” but did not ban reporters from team clubhouses.

“We are asking anyone – including media – who has visited a high-risk area, as defined by the CDC, within the last 14 days not to visit our facilities,” MLB said in a statement. “We are also discussing additional measures internally and with other leagues. At this time, we have not made changes to our media access procedures, and we will advise if we determine to take such steps.”

In the NHL, some teams acted on the league’s advisement immediately. The New York Islanders closed their locker room after their 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The San Jose Sharks, who have been proceeding to host games despite a recommendation not to from Santa Clara County, announced they’d conduct news conferences in place of locker room interviews after home games Saturday and Sunday.

The Washington Capitals dressing room remained open, though, as team officials communicated with the NHL on when a formal policy might take effect. The Philadelphia Flyers told the South Jersey Courier-Post that locker rooms would remain open for the time being.

D.C. United officials said Major League Soccer left the decision up to each team. United left its dressing room open to reporters.

Those discussions alarmed reporters, many of whom worried about both the short- and long-term effects of restricted access to players. In the days and weeks ahead, providing unique coverage could get more difficult.

“I think MLB taking precautions makes a lot of sense, but when it comes to banning media from the clubhouse, I think that’s a step that should not be taken,” Paul Sullivan, president of the Baseball Writers Association of America and columnist for the Chicago Tribune, said in a phone interview. “Obviously, this concerns everyone, and it’s understandable, but players can catch the virus from other players, they can catch it from everyone. Saying that media can’t be in the clubhouse is a major leap.”

Some sportswriters voiced concern about locker room access in the future and whether leagues would keep interactions limited even after the scare subsides.

“I have no problem with this, given the current health concerns, but I do fear leagues won’t reopen the locker rooms to media once we eventually figure out how to contain coronavirus,” wrote Memphis Commercial Appeal sports columnist Mark Giannotto. “Open locker rooms almost always result in the best stories for fans.”

“It will be functionally impossible for me to write the type of features I do off of general news conference style access,” tweeted Lindsey Adler, who covers the New York Yankees for the Athletic.

Journalists use locker-room access, an industry standard among American pro sports organizations, to conduct postgame interviews with players and also for more informal conversations. Locker rooms are frequently open to reporters before and after games and provide a space for athletes and the people who cover them to build relationships – even when the cameras are off and notebooks are stowed away.

It’s in private locker room conversations that reporters pitch players on personal stories and ask questions ill-suited to large, public news conferences. Players also use the locker room to hold journalists accountable and express their opinions about unfavorable coverage.

“If everyone only did interviews on a podium, all the stories would be covering the same ground,” Sullivan said. “It wouldn’t be good for baseball, it certainly wouldn’t be good for the reporters. We’re here to cover the games and provide information to fans, and that would be difficult to do without access to the players.”