Nick Piccone
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting the NBA has suspended their season following players on both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz leaving the court, postponing their game until further notice. We found out soon after it was because Rudy Gobert was being tested for the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The NBA has suspended the season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2020
The NBA "will use hiatus to determine next steps moving forward," league says. https://t.co/tWoRO8pbfT
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2020
The players have been quarantined inside Chesapeake Energy Arena, where OKC police closed it off.
The Jazz and Thunder players are currently quarantined in the OKC arena, league sources tell ESPN. This is following Rudy Gobert testing positive for the coronavirus.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2020
Jazz-Thunder game has officially been postponed. Fans have been asked to leave Chesapeake Energy Arena. pic.twitter.com/i0rm4khahI
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 12, 2020
Despite testing positive for COVID-19, Gobert is said to be feeling “good” and “strong enough” to play in Wednesday’s game.
Utah Jazz All-Star Rudy Gobert has tested positive for coronavirus, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
Sources say Gobert is feeling good, strong and stable — and was feeling strong enough to play tonight.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 12, 2020
Of course, just a couple of days ago, Gobert touched microphones and recorders in front of him after answering questions. Cool!
As part of the Jazz’s COVID-19 response, shootaround availability was done in the ZBBC media room today rather than on the court. As Rudy Gobert got finished discussing the situation, he stood up, leaned over and made it a point to touch every mic and recorder in front of him. 😂
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) March 9, 2020
So funny! 😂😂😂
I think it’s just a matter of time before the NHL follows suit. Isn’t it better to be preemptive instead of reactionary to something that already occurred? There’s enough of a sample size to shut things down until some plan is formulated to combat this from spreading. I’m no doctor, but neither are the many social media experts out there saying the coronavirus pandemic is overblown. None of us know for sure, so why not just… you know… make sure?
We’re in for an interesting few weeks in the sports world.
UPDATE: Following the NBA’s lead, all the major professional sports organizations in the United States have suspended or flat-out canceled their seasons. The NHL, MLS, and MLB have suspended their seasons so far. March Madness tournaments for NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball have been canceled. The rest of the XFL season has been canceled. The NFL has suspended travel, but as of now, plans to still start the league year on time, meaning free agency will not be pushed back. More are sure to come.
You can follow Nick Piccone on Twitter (@nickpiccone) and e-mail him at [email protected]. You can read his pro wrestling articles on PhillyVoice here.
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