NBA Suspends Season After Gobert Tests Positive for Coronavirus

The NBA announced Wednesday night that it would suspend the season indefinitely following Rudy Gobert's contraction of COVID-19.

ATLANTA -- The NBA announced Wednesday night that it would suspend the season until further notice after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first known instance of an NBA player contracting the coronavirus, and though Gobert was not in the arena, players on both the Jazz and the Thunder -- who were scheduled to play tonight -- were quarantined and tested for the virus in the arena. Chesapeake Energy Arena employees wiped down and disinfected both benches once the teams left the court and fans exited the building.

In a media session on Monday, Gobert touched every microphone and recorder in his vicinity, though it’s yet unclear whether that gave him or anyone else the virus. 

The NBA has proactively taken precautions all week to keep its players, coaches, and fans safe. They have encouraged players to avoid contact with fans, use elbow touches instead of high-fives, and wash their hands meticulously. Earlier this week, the league unilaterally restricted media access to all locker rooms and limited the settings and capacities in which media can interact with players.

The league had reportedly already discussed postponing the season before Gobert was diagnosed with the virus, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, and the NBA and its players association met on Wednesday to discuss further steps for the progress of the season. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe, both sides emerged with the feeling that the situation was trending toward a scenario in which fans would no longer be allowed at games. The NBA’s Board of Governors arrived at a similar conclusion when they met via teleconference later in the day.

The owners “discussed ways to allow them to continue playing and televising games during the coronavirus outbreak,” according to Lowe and Wojnarowski, “but the notion of the league doing so in empty arenas generated much greater consensus, sources said.”

Now the league has rendered those options obsolete, and will use its indefinite hiatus to “determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.” It’s unclear whether the season will resume later in the year or be cancelled altogether. What is evident, however, is that the NBA won’t risk the health of its players in the face of a deadly and rapidly-spreading disease. As young and fit NBA players aren't in the most vulnerable demographic for contracting the coronavirus, but the league should -- and clearly will -- take all possible precautions to ensure maximum player safety. Veteran immunologist Anthony Fauci advised the nation against gatherings of large crowds on Wednesday, adding that “if that means not having people in the audience when the NBA plays, so be it.”

Instead, both the seats and the courts will be empty. This will throw for a loop not only players and fans, but coaches, media, arena employees, and other parties directly and tangentially affected by the impending absence of games. The league must devise solutions that will keep all parties healthy, safe, and supported -- which will likely include COVID-19 testing for players, at the very least. Even in a season of ongoing crises, these are truly the most drastic times, which call for the most drastic measures. Once Wednesday’s events reached a tipping point, this was the NBA’s only option. So be it.