NBA commissioner Adam Silver is defending the league’s rare access to coronavirus testing after eight teams were screened for the respiratory infection in the last week as most of the public went unchecked.
New York mayor Bill de Blasio, for one, had questioned how the Brooklyn Nets were able to test the team for coronavirus when others in his hard-hit city haven’t had access to tests. The Nets announced Tuesday that four players tested positive for coronavirus, with star Kevin Durant acknowledging that he was among them.
The team contracted with a private company to conduct the tests.
‘The fundamental issue, obviously, is that there are insufficient tests,’ Silver told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on Wednesday night. ‘I’d only say, in the case of the NBA, we’ve been following the recommendations of public health officials.’
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is defending the league’s rare access to coronavirus testing after eight teams were screened for the respiratory infection in the last week as most of the public went unchecked
The Nets announced that four players tested positive for coronavirus, with star Kevin Durant acknowledging that he was among them. The team contracted with a private company to conduct the tests
New York mayor Bill de Blasio questioned how the Nets were able to test the team for coronavirus when others in his hard-hit city haven’t had access to tests
The NBA season has been suspended since last week when Utah center Rudy Gobert tested positive in Oklahoma City, prompting officials to pull Jazz and Thunder players off the court and into the locker room for an impromptu quarantine before tip-off.
‘The Utah Jazz did not ask to be tested,’ said Silver. ‘The Oklahoma public health official there on the spot not only required that they be tested, but they weren’t allowed to leave their locker room for at least four hours after the game. They had to stay, masks on, until the health authorities had tested them. That was our first case.’
As Silver explained, the NBA followed public health officials and their own doctors’ directions before testing teams that had been exposed to the Jazz.
‘We’ve had eight NBA teams – full teams – that have been tested now, and members of other teams that were showing symptoms,’ he continued. ‘I understand from a public health standpoint why some reacted the way they did. But I would say from an NBA standpoint, we were following directives.’
Silver emphasized that the league’s decision to suspend the season indefinitely helped galvanize the public to react to the coronavirus outbreak.
When play was suspended last week, only one NBA fan base, the Golden State Warriors’, was banned from attending home games by local government.
Rudy Gobert (right) and Donovan Mitchell (left) were the NBA’s first coronavirus cases
After the NBA’s hiatus began, however, both the NHL and Major League Baseball quickly followed with their own suspensions.
‘But for the fact that we tested Rudy Gobert, there’s a chance that we would have been playing for several more days,’ Silver said.
Another reason for the testing, Silver explained, is health officials’ belief that NBA players are more likely to spread coronavirus.
‘You could put our players in a category that some would refer to as “super spreaders,” said Silver. ‘And that is they are young people who are working in close proximity to each other; they are traveling at great frequency; they are regularly in large groups including in public; and for the young cohorts in particular, a large number of them are asymptomatic.’
On Monday, for instance, infected Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell told Good Morning America that he is asymptomatic. Without the test, he explained, Mitchell would have no idea that he was carrying the virus.
Of course, only a small percentage of potential carriers have been able to get tested, which is what prompted de Blasio’s criticism.
‘We wish them a speedy recovery,’ de Blasio tweeted. ‘But, with all due respect, an entire NBA team should NOT get tested for COVID-19 while there are critically ill patients waiting to be tested. Tests should not be for the wealthy, but for the sick.’
Statewide, New York has nearly 2,400 confirmed cases, with 1,339 in New York City as of mid-day Wednesday.
The Oklahoma City Thunder leave the court before an NBA game against the Utah Jazz after the league suspended play when it was learned that Utah center Rudy Gobert tested positive
NBA spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne on Tuesday night that the testing was in response to players’ frequent travel and exposure to fans.
‘Public health authorities and team doctors have been concerned that, given NBA players’ direct contact with each other and close interactions with the general public, in addition to their frequent travel, they could accelerate the spread of the virus,’ Bass said. ‘Following two players testing positive last week, others were tested and five additional players tested positive.
‘Hopefully, by these players choosing to make their test results public, they have drawn attention to the critical need for young people to follow CDC recommendations in order to protect others, particularly those with underlying health conditions and the elderly.’
Kevin Durant is one of four Nets players to test positive for coronavirus
Silver highlighted the league’s role in drawing the attention of young people to the pandemic.
‘The NBA’s move to halt its season led the way for other leagues and raised awareness of the threat of the virus,’ said Silver.
‘My sense was that especially among young people, people were not taking these protocols very seriously until we did what we did.’
Gobert and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz, as well as Christian Wood of the Detroit Pistons, tested positive last week for the virus.
The Nets last played on March 10 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Members of the Lakers are under quarantine for 14 days and will be tested for COVID-19, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.
According to one ESPN report, the NBA will likely remain out of commission until mid-June at the earliest. However, Silver did tell Nichols that he believes the ongoing season can be salvaged in some form.
Beyond the obvious concern of coronavirus infection, Silver did address some procedural issues the league is facing.
As far as when the league will return, Silver couldn’t offer a definitive answer: ‘When public health officials give us the OK.’
Silver did tell ESPN that the league is considering producing an All-Star game that can serve as a fundraiser during the coronavirus suspension.
And when asked by Nichols if the 2020-2021 season is delayed, would the NBA consider permanently rescheduling the openers for Christmas Day, which is traditionally when the league enjoys its largest television audiences.
‘Possibly,’ Silver said. ‘Those are things we’re always talking about.’
As Silver acknowledged, there is a lack of testing nationally, but he did stress that league teams were following the instructions of health officials by getting tested