The NBA won’t be fining or suspending Jazz center Rudy Gobert for his actions leading up to his positive test for the coronavirus, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
Gobert, who tested positive on Wednesday, made light of the coronavirus situation on Monday, when he made a point to touch all of the microphones and recorders in front of him following his shootaround availability.
According to a report from ESPN, Gobert also exhibited “a cavalier attitude toward the virus in the locker room, touching teammates and their belongings.” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski added in a TV appearance that there’s “a lot of frustration” with Gobert in the Jazz locker room (hat tip to NBC Sports).
The All-Star center published an Instagram post on Thursday expressing embarrassment and apologizing for taking any actions that may have endangered those around him.
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- Although Gobert has faced plenty of criticism this week, Bruce Arthur of The Toronto Star argues that the Jazz center can be viewed as an “accidental hero,” since his actions and his positive diagnosis provided the NBA and North America at large with a prominent case study for why the virus should be taken seriously.
- A pair of Jazz beat writers – Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune and Tony Jones of The Athletic – shared their accounts of what became a wild night in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. Both reporters became part of the story due to their proximity to affected players Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, as they were among those tested for COVID-19 late on Wednesday in OKC. They both tested negative.
- As we relayed on Thursday, 58 members of Utah’s traveling party were tested for coronavirus on Wednesday, including Walden and Jones. Of those 58, only Mitchell tested positive (Gobert’s test was conducted earlier). Still, the players who tested negative have been instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days, as the team announced in a press release.
he should be fined and suspended IMO.
I guess in your estimation, he should get fined if he gets a teammate sick with a common cold too.. People are panicking and they shouldn’t.. it’s not a death sentence to get.. only ones that have passed are older people or people with compromised immune systems.. people getting treated for diseases like cancer can die from the common flu because there immune system is compromised from treatments.. just practice good hygiene.. wash your hands, sanitize.. people don’t recognize items like money or atm cards or credit cards are touched by people
It’s a deathly serious to many groups of people. Healthy people are hosts for the virus making infection to high risks groups a serious problem.
Wash your hands, don’t touch people, and then wash your hands, shouldn’t take a virus outbreak for people to decide to use good hygiene, stop with the panic, high risk groups are always at risk to infection, that’s why they are called high risk groups, obviously this is your first pandemic
Lmao. No he should be fined, suspended, and made to clean every chair and spot of the arena during the shut down.
You don’t have to be worried, but deliberately being that rude about it warrants punishment.
“Nah I’m not too worried about it. Itll pass it a couple weeks maybe a month.” You had one job Rudy.
Great punishment. Teachers of America approve of this, as it’s more important to understand the weight of one’s actions with an opportunity for atonement, instead of being given a free pass or taking a harsh punishment that has no relation to the original mistake. It’s amazing what happens when people experience empathy. That’s what ultimately changes hearts and actions. Not smacking someone’s wrists with a yardstick. Or just being forced to say, “Duh … sorry.”
I’m wondering if Gobert, as part of his act, coughed or sneezed in the face of Mitchell.
If you think he should be fined or suspended you’re probably a hypocrite. Maybe if it was durant, wall, Lowry, Paul, or kytie. But gobert seems like a good person.
He cried bc he wasn’t an AS. He touched reporters equipment to make fun of a pandemic. Mitchell doesn’t sound like he thinks RG is cool. Dude sounds like a barrel of laughs
No more than a barrel of laughs than the average earthling. Gobert should have been an all star, and Mitchel is a creep
he made a joke of the whole thing when he touched the microphones. logic says that’s pretty stupid and reckless.
He probably made a joke because to most people it’s just a common flu. It doesn’t kill everyone but the panic of people thinking it’s a death sentence.. this isn’t the first virus that has been a pandemic.. nor Will it be the last.. people with compromise immune systems can die from a common flu.. people die of pneumonia..
A good person? Never heard that before… still haven’t, since you’re not close or backup up by someone that is. This evidence says otherwise.
A lack of fine is preposterous. He may have killed, intentionally for a stab at destructive humor.
He was making light of the medias concerns, not INTENTIONALLY TRYING TO SPREAD IT. OOOOHHHHHH. Gobert was intentionally trying to spread it lmao!
What difference does that make?– how is it acceptable as a joke? It is not a funny/notfunny issue.
He spread whatever he might have had, or unnecessarily got spread on, intentionally, for whatever the reason.
Lebron was also caught unknowledgeable with the cameras rolling but that was earlier and he was just speculating anyway, not working some protest joke.
Maybe try calling Gobert’s action a form of protest.
Wait, no, it’s still stupid, and you’re still an apologist.
Satire?– about this? Try it less recklessly.
Impetuousness may work. Carelessness was used in the apology-tweet I think. Or post-game jitters or adrenalin. Rowdy cops have made adrenalin an excuse.
But he’s from France, they have it worse.
Why would the NBA fine or suspend him? He should not have touched all of the reporters, but it’s not like he knew he had COVID-19. I shook hands with multiple people at work yesterday. If it turns out two/three days from now, should I be fired for doing so?
yeh string ’em up
You think that is equivalent?– No.
What were you ridiculing while shaking hands? Who were you trying to kill?
Honestly, it’s probably going to shorten the length of the crisis. NBA shutting down was a signal for the entire country to take this seriously.
I honestly hope that afterwards people will be saying, “it was all overblown” because that means that we managed to curtail the spread.
Italy is in a shambles right now, while some other countries who acted early have no cases at all. This event will be case-studied for a long time.
What happens if Gobert got from Mitchell? Nobody knows who got from who..it’s not a guarantee Mitchell got from Gobert.. or vice versa..
What difference?
The difference is that people are roasting Gobert and it could be that Mitchell gave it him
Don’t you see that doesn’t matter. What matters is the spread of it and things I would be repeating…
Why roast Mitchell? He didn’t try to get it that we know of, or try to spread it. No point in blasting someone just for breathing infected air.
Get educated and quit blaming. He got it from someone. Idiots.
Donovan’s dad had it. Maybe he gave it to Donovan and then passed to Rudy. They locker right by each other.
So what. Gobert spread it intentionally, repeatedly, laughing despite his coworkers wanting him to stop.
One of them should hit Gobert in the face at least. Something that gets through to him. Disapproval was not enough, nor infection.
It does not matter if someone is healthy enough to overcome, its the spreading to people who can’t.
Overcoming is not something to be proud of; any child can do it.
The callousness of people is amazing. His actions would have gone unnoticed outside of a small circle except for a positive test.
C2thedub is uncomprehending yet calls people idiots. Melonhead.
Man you really have your knickers twisted about all of this is just the cold or flu, anyone would think it is serious.
Never been a great fan of Rudy as a player, too much D not enough scoring & offensive skills, but in all of this situation he has most definitely earned my respect moving forward.
When all the madness, panic & hysteria that a flu is causing passes, then I might even enjoy more his play.
I’m not young and have preconditions.
I’ve had colds before and didn’t die. It may have felt like I would die in my sleep– how could air get through that throat without me working it through?– but I always woke up next morning for another day of it, unless my body deems the trial run is done and the flu can come to an end after several days. Soon after I might wonder what all the previous grief was about, being so repaired.
Well for the last few decades, I guess my internal filing system has had a full assortment of antibodies recorded, as all get handled, but this one is a new model. I am sure that a possible death can alter opinions. The young are not worried, congrats, but don’t expect me to agree.
No need to worry about children or even 4 to 55 probably.
There are more pertinent facts about covid19 that the Chinese probably know that our govt does not seem to care about, or have dispersed. F’n Dump.
F’n media– Go ask the Chinese and disclose the details, It’s their flu, and it has different ways to transport than other flus. F’n people with Gobertism, if anyone should have to die. At least there would be a reason in his case… He wanted it.
When humans are nervous/antsy and cant ask Google to save the day they often attempt comedy as an outlet-
Its nervous comedy and often times comes out Oh so wrong, but its more of just an extension of the anxiety of the situation
He did not want it , cmon Now? Look at the material presented a week before the mic incident on Covid-19 from outlets like late night Tv shows, radio shows, Twitter etc…… literally thousands of people made the same refrences same bad humor uninformed jokes as he did…
His backfired with cruel and unusual punishment, this is all just awful awful randomness, let the man be
Your a great poster X but I have to disagree with your stance towards Rudy here