LAST week, Utah Jazz Center Rudy Gobert was on the news telling us that although he has recovered, the road to complete recuperation was slow and arduous.
Gobert said he just recently regained his sense of smell after having trouble for three months after the diagnosis.
Let that sink in for a while.
This is as a 7’ 1” tall monster of a man in his prime, the NBA’s two- time defensive athlete of the year and it took him THREE months to regain his sense of smell.
While the body of knowledge we have about Covid-19 is slowly being upgraded, we are still in that learning curve and it seems like every week we are discovering something new about this virus.
What we don’t absolutely know -for obvious reasons- is the medium and long-term effects of this virus.
This could potentially have disastrous consequences for professional athletes.
You see unlike the rest of us mortals, they have to constantly make sure their bodies and physiques are at their absolute peaks every single day. A single twitch, a tightness here and there- are already areas of concern.
The uncertainty that Covid-19 brings to the table is simply frightening.
FACE. Unfortunately, Gobert has been made the face of Covid-19 in so far as professional sports is concerned.
Images of him carelessly and intentionally touching microphones during a press conference back in March which led to him testing positive for Covid-19 remains embedded in our memories and will probably be immortalized as an example of wanton, reckless behavior.
An unfortunate consequence of that miscreant behavior was a falling out with star teammate Donovan Mitchell, but it looks like their relationship has gotten better and he is set to be with this team as they leave on July 7 for Orlando for the NBA restart.
NBA. Speaking of the NBA, the news that the Los Angeles Clippers have recently shut down its practice facility after a member of their traveling party tested positive is another cause for worry.
Remember that a traveling party consists of the players and its staff that are headed for Orlando.
This really doesn’t bode well for the planned resumption. Consider that there are 22 teams involved who will be playing against each other in a contact environment.
If one member tests positive, not only will the rest of the team be potentially infected, the members of the opposing team will also have to be tested.
VERBATIM. “Today, with the blessing of God, I returned home after battling the Covid-19 virus. It was a World Championship fight. I’ll be a former champion, but you doctors are the real champions of life.”--Roberto Duran in his Instagram account.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my kumpare, Stephen Vilamor of Step V Trading who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers!