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Tim BontempsESPN
With the current coronavirus pandemic configured as part of American life indefinitely, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league’s plan to return to play next month on a closed campus in Florida was the best option. available to the league.
“We know that COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future,” Silver said in a conference call Friday afternoon with various league officials. “And we have no choice but to learn to live with this virus.”
“There are no risk-free options at the moment.”
Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association, Michele Roberts, NBPA President Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Miami Heat forward Andre Iguodala were also on the conference call.
Silver was asked about two major hurdles the league must overcome: the rapidly increasing number of Florida coronavirus cases and the possibility of an infection entering the bubble environment as he attempts to restart his 22 teams in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.
“My final conclusion is that we cannot escape the virus, and that this is what we are going to live with for the foreseeable future, so we designed the campus the way we did,” Silver said. “And so it’s a closed network; and while it’s not waterproof, we’re essentially protected from the cases around us. At least, that’s the model.”
“So for those reasons, we are still very comfortable being in Orlando.”
The league and union officially agreed to proceed with the restart plan earlier on Friday.
Silver admitted that Florida’s daily case count, which was approaching 9,000 in totals announced Friday, was something that concerned him. But, he added, the precautions the league is taking to prevent that from affecting what the league is trying to do.
“The answer is yes, the level of concern has increased, not only because of rising levels in Florida, but across the country,” Silver said. “At least today, I think, 29 of the 50 states have a higher number of cases. Of course, we designed our campus, in essence, to isolate ourselves from the level of cases in the surrounding community.
“But since we designed our initial protocol, we have continued to work with Disney on testing at least a subset of its employees who could potentially be in the same room as our players, and anyone else who has tested daily on our campus.” We are pleased that once we work through those additional steps with Disney, we will continue to have a safe environment for us to resume our season. “
As for what happens when a player tests positive for the virus, Silver was specifically asked what the NBA would do in a scenario where a superstar player tests positive, which, at a minimum, would require them to refrain from exercising. During two weeks. , automatically discarding them for at least one full round of the playoffs.
“We have not worked in all scenarios,” Silver said. “But the idea would be that if we had a positive single-player result, frankly, if that player was an All-Star or a travel officer, that player would be quarantined. Then we would be tracking down any player or other personnel than the player He had been in contact and could even supplement daily tests just to make sure others had not been contaminated.
“But then we would continue. That team would be a man and we would treat that positive test as injury during the season. And so we would not delay the continuation of the playoffs.”
Silver went on to say, however, that the biggest question that remained unanswered: What will the league do if there is further spread of the virus on campus beyond just a single player, or even a couple of them? you don’t have a firm answer for
“If we had a significant spread of the coronavirus through our community, that could lead us to stop,” Silver said. “But we are working closely with the players’ association, with Disney, and with public health officials in Florida on what that line should be. And it has not been precisely designed. I think we want to hit the ground.” and start to see how our tests work and how the protocols work and then we’ll make decisions as we go. “
Several questions were also asked about ongoing protests for social justice and racial inequality in the country, protests in which many NBA players have participated. Paul made it clear that it will remain a central topic of conversation in Orlando.
“You’re going to keep listening to us,” said Paul. “This is not a ‘shut up and dribble’ situation.”
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