Former Florida Mutineers player Preston "Prestinni" Sanderson said the team made an internal decision at one point not to attend the Los Angeles Call of Duty League home series, which took place March 7-8, mostly due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
In a video interview, new Chicago Huntsmen player Prestinni noted that the players had discussed their concerns and even came to a decision not to travel to L.A. for the event.
The Florida Mutineers were not immediately available for comment.
Read more: Chicago Huntsmen sign Prestinni
"The entire team was willing to sit out -- they didn't want to risk it," Prestinni told ESPN. "Right before the event, [it was announced that] there were virus [cases] in L.A. So it had a lot of people freaking out."
Three days after the conclusion of the L.A. home series, the NBA decided to suspend its season indefinitely due to the pandemic, and other major sports leagues soon followed suit.
Prestinni, who decided not to compete at the L.A. event due to "team approved personal reasons," noted that the team went back-and-forth on what to do. Prestinni had packed his clothes just in case.
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"We were all [having] this conversation for a good couple hours, [and] we all made our decision," he said. "Then later on that night, [around] midnight, they all decided to come together and, you know, make a decision to go [and] just use a pickup."
The pickup ended up being Maurice "Fero" Henriquez, who remains with the team as a starter.
Prestinni later noted that he was dealing with mental health issues, compounded by the pandemic, which was why he did not travel with the team for the homestand. Prestinni remained on the team as a substitute until joining the Huntsmen on May 18.