“I just tried to lighten the mood”

Last March, Rudy Gobert was the first NBA player to test positive for coronavirus. Almost 10 months later, the French pivot returned to this day.

“I knew what I had seen on the Internet, that is to say quite a few things in fact. There was some right and some wrong, so I tried to sort it out a bit. But often, until you or the people around you experience it, you are not quite sure what you are up against. The first day, that’s how I felt. I had a little cold, a little fever… As it has happened to me 1,000 times before in my life. I’m the type of guy who, when it happens to me, lives despite it. I move around a bit, and a few hours later I feel better and I can play the game. ” Rudy Gobert.

But this time it wasn’t much better. And although the epidemic was less virulent then than it is today, the staff decided to test Gobert.

“I knew I had it when I tested positive. I got tested for all the viruses the day before, and the next morning, when we saw that I was negative for the flu, we decided it was better and smarter to test myself for the coronavirus as well. We went to Oklahoma City Medical Center and I got tested. ” Rudy Gobert.

When he learned he was positive, the French pivot took a blow to the back of the head.

“I was afraid of the unknown, there were a lot of things we didn’t know, and it still is. Being the first NBA player to test positive made me think about a lot of things. I was wondering if I was going to be OK or not, I was thinking about my family who couldn’t be with me. There was a lot of stuff to deal with. But when I was able to sit down and tell myself that it was not just me, that the entire planet was suffering from this virus and that some were losing their jobs, their families… It was hard for everyone. ”Rudy Gobert.

In the process, the NBA suspended the season to prevent the situation from escalating. It was indeed difficult to ensure that the players did not contaminate each other on the field, and it was not known if other members of the Jazz were sick.

“I thought the NBA made a great decision in suspending the season. And it was good that they reacted so quickly because having thousands of people side by side in a closed room as more and more people tested positive… It was the smartest thing to do to try to save as many lives as possible. ” Rudy Gobert.

Following this suspension of the season, Gobert was vilified by a good part of the followers of the NBA. Not necessarily for having been tested positive (and again … some notably confused the notion of patient 0 and player who tested positive first), but especially because of a press conference which had taken place two days earlier, during of which Gobert had knowingly exceeded the health instructions of the NBA by touching all the microphones placed in front of him. ”

“It came from a good intention. It was the first day we learned that the media could no longer interview us by being right next to us. And we didn’t know as much as we do now. I just tried to lighten the mood. If I could go back, I wouldn’t do it again. ” Rudy Gobert.

But in the end, the situation ended up working out for the NBA. The season was able to end in the bubble despite an increasingly worrisome situation in the United States, and the interior eventually healed, although it took a long time.

“It took a long time for me to get better. For me to be really good, maybe a month. But I tried to talk to my family every day, to really help others. To educate people as much as I could. To make sure we get through this. ” Rudy Gobert.

Via ESPN.

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