After announcing last week that 16 of the 302 NBA players who were tested for COVID-19 last Tuesday came back positive, the league has issued an update today on its latest coronavirus testing results. Here are the details, per the NBA:
- Of the 344 players tested between June 24-29, an additional nine players tested positive for COVID-19.
- That makes 25 of 351 total players who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus since mandatory testing began on Tuesday, June 23.
- Of the 884 team staff members who were tested between June 23-29, a total of 10 tested positive for the coronavirus.
Some of the 25 players who tested positive have been publicly identified, including Spencer Dinwiddie and DeAndre Jordan of the Nets. In other cases, teams have revealed that players on their roster tested positive without specifically identifying them, such as when the Pelicans announced they had three cases. In general though, the NBA and its teams won’t be announcing which specific players or staffers have tested positive, leaving that decision up to those individuals.
As the NBA notes in today’s announcement, any player, coach, or staffer who tests positive must self-quarantine until they satisfy public health protocols and have been cleared by a doctor. While some players, such as Jordan, may opt out of the NBA’s restart as a result of a coronavirus diagnosis, players will be permitted to rejoin their teams after their self-isolation period, assuming they’re asymptomatic and return multiple negative tests.
The NBA’s hope is that all COVID-19 cases around the league will be identified before teams and players travel to the Walt Disney World campus next week.
So let’s get this straight. 9 more players (that they are reporting). 10 staff. Florida had 10,000 new cases yesterday. the MLS has 9 positive players and 1 coach on ONE TEAM test positive since they landed in Florida on Saturday. Adam Silver plans to “come and go” through a :backdoor”. Guess he isn’t making the same sacrifice as his underlings. Disney staff comes and goes. Players have little faith that their teammates will follow all rules. The NBA had to get insurance for players in case of career ending COVID repercussions (screw the coaches and staff). But the league is remaining true that their plan is worth it? The arrogance and greed is nauseating.
Before June 23 Life is about multiply choice
Stay at home
Wear a mask
COVID
Die
25 players selected COVID
Unfortunately some of us have family members who are staff and have little choice. Going is all risk and no incentive other than making sure you aremt blackballed in the industry for refusing to go. No extra money. No guests. No extra insurance if you get sick there. That’s all for players only.
It’s a very telling statistic that 7% of the players tested positive but barely 1% of the team staff members did. Young people are obviously at lower risk if they get sick, but they should still be more careful in consideration of others (don’t be a Rudy Gobert in other words).
Players are the show!
The idea that going to Orlando is somehow all risk because of COVID is a false one. Staying hope doesn’t prevent you from getting sick either. There is no place you can hide from the virus to guarantee you can’t get infected. In fact, with how strictly controlled this environment will be compared to the outside world the bubble will be safer.
Them playing isn’t about extra incentives. It’s about doing their jobs they get paid hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars for. Plenty of people have worked in essential jobs through the whole pandemic making minimum wage or barely more than that and no one cares about them like we do these people.
*staying home
25 of 351 players testing positive = about 7.1% positive
10 of 884 staff members testing positive = about 1.2% positive.
If I had to guess, I’d say the athletes have far more contact with others, even during these precautionary times. They simply CAN’T just stop their physical conditioning, at least to some extent, and so they’re likely at higher risk. Still, I can’t even imagine how fast the virus can spread once the games (ie, full contact) start…
Daily testing and bubble living should halt spreads. Players will be safer than at home (if they’re doing things right). Money is not tight
Still, it seems to me like it may honestly take one single player contracting the virus to start an absolute avalanche of positives. I don’t think anybody anywhere feels like anything is guaranteed 100% safe (of course), and regardless of sideline distancing, etc, it’s a contact sport… with lots and lots of spit and sweat being flung around…
Covid19 has not been found in sweat, although the CDC seems to avoid the question, probably because… The danger is in breathing on each other which there will be a lot of.
But the plan includes isolating the infected from people who would be susceptible to it’s worse outcomes. Possibly herd immunity is actually increasing. Some Scandanavian countries actually have that as a goal. Results are mixed so far but not a disaster.
It is only a matter of time before an athlete contracts COVID and has chronic sub-lethal, career-ending effects. This will blow up any restart of any pro league.
It hasn’t blown up the restart of soccer in Europe, et al.
Oh boy the negativity in this forum is absolutely overwhelming! Nay sayers stay home & let the rest of us live & enjoy our lives!