Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz was the first professional athlete in North American sports to test positive for coronavirus late Wednesday night, prompting the NBA to suspend its 2019-20 season indefinitely.
While it is an attempt to curtail the spread of the illness, people infected by coronavirus might not display symptoms for as long as 14 days — meaning Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, who reportedly tested positive as well, could have spread the virus while in close contact with a myriad of NBA players over the past two weeks.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, teams that have played the Jazz over the past 10 days have asked to self-quarantine including the Washington Wizards, which announced their decision on Thursday morning.
One of those teams is the Knicks, who hosted the Jazz on March 4 at Madison Square Garden where Gobert played.
As of now, the Knicks will not be tested for coronavirus, according to the New York Post’s Marc Berman, but expectations are that they will be self-quarantined.
Veteran guard Wayne Ellington — the only player made available to the media following the Knicks’ win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night — assured that everyone on the roster is feeling okay.
“Obviously you think about it, but at the same time, [MSG Sports chief medical officer] Dr. Lisa Callahan notified us as long as you’re not feeling symptoms what comes with it, you’re fine,” Ellington said. “Otherwise, we’ll take the necessary orders. Everybody is OK.’
AmNewYork Metro reached out to the Knicks for comment on their plans moving forward but did not receive an answer as of yet.
It is worth noting that the Knicks were the only team in the NBA that wanted to continue to play their games with fans in attendance when league owners discussed what precautions could be taken concerning coronavirus on Wednesday morning, per ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.
