By Jalen Brown
Two-time defensive player of the year, Frenchman, Rudy Gobert has just locked down the award for a third straight year. Who is Rudy and why should you know who he is? Well, Rudy Gobert caught the coronavirus early in the pandemic and put the whole NBA on lockdown. At the beginning of April, the Utah Jazz center tested positive for the coronavirus, just before a game with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The NBA reacted quickly to protect the lives of their players and the fans, by postponing the game.
His teammate Donovan Mitchell now has it too. They both have the coronavirus. They are not the only basketball players to have it. It has spread through the NBA, much like it has spread through the rest of society. It was the scare that these famous players are not immune that has helped to force the rest of America to take notice of this horrible disease. These players getting sick forced regular Americans to believe that if these players could get the virus then no one was immune, that we all were at risk.
In order to protect the people the NBA then cancelled the entire season. To a die-hard basketball fan this is a sad day that I never thought would ever happen. Marcus Smart, Christian Woods and Kevin Durant, all tested positive. The close proximity of players means that this rapidly spreading disease spread through many of the players very quickly.
Thank goodness all these players have since recovered. When the NBA reopens they will all be playing. No doubt their health as athletes and their young age has helped them to recover quickly.
The players are not the only people that have it either. New York Knicks owner James Dolan and NBA Analyst Doris Burke also have the Coronavirus. Because of the coronavirus, the NBA made the decision to still have games, but without fans and limiting the reporters in the locker room after the games.
No fans in the stadiums is something that some NBA players don’t like. They want fans in the stadium. The support from the fans is motivation to perform their best. Lebron James does not want to play games in an empty stadium. The fans make the game better and make it feel more alive. Because the coronavirus situation has gotten so bad, the NBA has suspended the regular season and the NBA season could be extended until August.
It has been a rumor that the microphone touching incident, right before Gobert tested positive, has stressed the relationship between him and his teammate Donovan Mitchell. However, this rumor has been put to bed. These players want to get back to work. Jazz executive vice-president said in a tweet, “They’re ready to put this behind them, move forward, act professionally. … We’re very pleased with the collective makeup of our group, Donovan and Rudy in particular. We look forward to moving forward.”
The owners and the players want to move forward. The fans definitely want to put all this behind them, and the American people are ready to defeat this disease and get back to work and being normal.
