Paragon of COVID-19 Wisdom? NBA Getting Ravaged By Pandemic

There’s trouble in the NBA, the so-called paragon of how to successfully slam dunk the COVID-19 pandemic. A coronavirus outbreak is rapidly spreading through the league despite the league’s 97 percent vaccination rate. Yahoo! reports that the league is losing just as many people and coaches this year to the disease despite having a 60% player booster shot rate. Yahoo! Sports reports.

It’s supposed to be the premier league in dealing with the pandemic. When the US coronavirus erupted, it was the first league that was forced to close its doors. In Florida’s bubble, players were literally under house arrest while they played between games. It was later restored activity. This is the league with a franchise in Brooklyn, which will not allow unvaccinated all-star Kyrie Irving (seen above in photo) to play or practice. It’s a league with a team in Canada that, next year, will not allow unvaccinated NBA players to enter the country.

“The NBA has been at the forefront of how professional sports handle a global pandemic since life as we know it changed in March of 2020,” SBNation’s Ricky O’Donnell said. All these safeguards ensure that the NBA is healthy.

Not so arm-jabbing fast.

O’Donnell wrote, “While the league has been hailed for how it’s handled Covid since the beginning, the unfortunate reality is that we’re still in the middle of a pandemic that’s quickly approaching its third year. The NBA is facing another pandemic midway through its 2021-2022 season.

It’s so bad, Doc! Tell it straight.

Seven members of the Chicago Bulls are currently in health and safety protocol after positive tests: DeMar DeRozan, Coby White, Derrick Jones Jr., Javonte Green, Matt Thomas, Ayo Dosunmu and Stanley Johnson. Nikola Vucevic had previously been absent from the team for 10 days.

The Charlotte Hornets report four positive tests — for LaMelo Ball, Jalen McDaniels, Mason Plumlee and Terry Rozier.

The Denver Nuggets are three players short.

Ja Morant from Memphis was given a booster shot and was then vaccinated. His COVID-19 test was positive. It was also detected in Dillon Brooks, his teammate.

Rick Carlisle is the Indiana coach.

Masai Ujiri, Toronto’s team president is ill with COVID-19.

The NBA has reported almost three dozen virus-related cases amongst its players. No games have been postponed, but O’Donnell wonders how long it will take before that happens. Chicago’s G-League team already has postponed games.

“The Bulls in particular are running out of players,” O’Donnell goes on. “As new variants emerge, it’s clear we’re not out of the woods — and maybe that close to it — as the calendar flips to 2022.”

Nevertheless, the SBNation writer isn’t ready to give up on the standard advisories or the current NBA season. COVID-19 will disappear if everyone gets on “the same page” and practices six-foot distancing, wears a mask, gets vaccinated and booster shots, O’Donnell predicted.

In times such as these,vigilance is essential. Unfortunately for all the NBA players and coaches, as well as the team president, there is no way to stop this terrible, constant pandemic from spreading and its many surges. Perhaps the media members who’ve been praising the NBA to the hilt (while ignoring its China hypocrisy) will finally wake up and smell the coffee.