The National Basketball Association (NBA) has ended its season early after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert – who made light of the coronavirus scare at a recent press conference – was confirmed to be carrying the disease.
“The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight’s schedule of games until further notice,” the league said in a statement on Wednesday night, adding that it would “use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Gobert, who the league said had “preliminarily tested positive for Covid-19,” has come under fire over a recent press conference, where the player deliberately wiped his hands on journalists’ microphones and recorders before leaving the press event, apparently mocking the intense reaction to the lethal outbreak.
The stunt has earned Gobert the title of the “dumbest player in NBA history” in some quarters, with outrage quickly lighting up social media over his disregard for a virus the World Health Organization has deemed a global pandemic.
Some netizens had little patience for those chastising the player, however, instead voicing concern for Gobert, his family and teammates.
The decision to suspend the remainder of the NBA season came after a game between Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder was postponed just prior to tipoff, after Gobert’s test came back positive. Though he never entered the arena, players from both teams were immediately quarantined. Athletes on teams that have played matches against Jazz in the past 10 days – including the Detroit Pistons, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks and the Toronto Raptors – have also been asked to self-isolate.
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