'Cool off': NBA virus victim's frustration with infected teammate
Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell provided another update on his status after testing positive for the coronavirus, this time via an interview with “Good Morning America.”
Mitchell, 23, became the second NBA player to test positive for COVID-19, joining Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert. Mitchell, from isolation, told GMA’s Robin Roberts that he feels fine and currently has “no symptoms.”
Mitchell said the fact that he has no symptoms is the “scariest” part of COVID-19.
“I’m asymptomatic. I could walk down the street. If it wasn’t public knowledge that I was sick, you wouldn’t know it,” Mitchell said.
“That’s the scariest part about this virus. You may seem fine, be fine.”
Mitchell was upset with Gobert
Mitchell and the rest of his teammates were tested after a positive test came in for Gobert last week, which prompted the NBA to suspend its season.
Gobert has faced criticism for making light of the coronavirus pandemic when, after speaking with reporters, he jokingly touched the microphones and recorders on the podium.
A few days later, Gobert tested positive and he has since issued an apology for being “careless.”
Beyond that, ESPN reported that Gobert’s carelessness extended to the Jazz locker room, where he was “touching other players and their belongings.”
Mitchell admitted that he was upset with Gobert, but has since had time to “cool off.”
“To be honest, it took awhile for me to kind of cool off,” Mitchell said. “I read what he said and I heard what he said and I’m glad he’s doing OK. I’m glad I’m doing well.”
The third-year guard is continuing to work with the community despite being in isolation, donating to school districts in Salt Lake City to provide children with school lunches.
The Jazz announced on Monday morning that Mitchell is making a donation to Granite School District in Salt Lake City to help students afford meals while schools are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mitchell’s donation, per the Jazz, will help “subsidise the program for food-insecure students, as many as 10,040 per day, during this non-summer school closure.”
