Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert became the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19 back on March 11. It ultimately forced the league to suspend its season amid the pandemic.
With the NBA set to return, Gobert is talking about his bout with the virus and how he’s become the poster boy for COVID-19 around the sports world.
“The taste has returned, but the smell is still not 100 percent. I can smell the smells, but not from afar. I spoke to specialists, who told me that it could take up to a year,” Gobert wrote in a column for L’Equipe.
A lot of the focus has been on the recovery rate for able-bodied and younger individuals who contract the virus. However, long-term health ramifications remain. Gobert’s might not be as severe, but it does tell us a story.
Once Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11, other members of the team were tested. Star teammate Donovan Mitchell contracted the virus. It has led to a contentious relationship between the two — one that some close to the situation feel can’t be mended. Whether that remains the case moving forward remains to be seen.
The league released its schedule for the remainder of the regular season on Friday. It’s expected to start late next month at Walt Disney World in Orlando. This comes despite the fact that the state of Florida just saw its highest single-day cases of COVID-19 on Friday with nearly 9,000.
Some players have legitimate concerns about resuming the season during the raging pandemic. Gobert’s story will only add to that.
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