Donovan Mitchell Needed To ‘Cool Off’ After Learning Of His COVID-19 Diagnosis

When the NBA season was shut down it was largely because Jazz player Rudy Gobert had contracted COVID-19, also known as coronavirus. If Gobert had the virus then a chain effect begins where everyone has to wonder which players have it, where they got it from and how far it had spread. In essence, the NBA had no choice but to immediately stop play to limit the impact coronavirus has on the rest of the world.

One player we know for certain that got it was Gobert’s teammate, Donovan Mitchell. During the night Gobert was found to have COVID-19 the entire Jazz roster underwent testing in the locker room, and Mitchell was the only other Jazz player to test positive. While we don’t know for certain if Gobert was the reason Mitchell received the virus, it was well known that Gobert was being reckless the days before his positive test. He has since apologized for his actions and participated in a coronavirus PSA video made by the NBA.

On Monday, Mitchell appeared on Good Morning America to discuss his recent diagnosis and what it’s like to be isolating himself. It’s a good interview that helps us better understand what it’s like to be someone that has tested positive for COVID-19, but not showing symptoms. During the interview, Mitchell was asked about his relationship with Gobert and if he had talked to him.

“To be honest with you Robin, it took a while for me to cool off. I read what I said and heard what he said. I’m glad he’s doing okay I’m glad I’m doing well. I’m just really happy to be honest Robin that it’s just, I hate to say this, just the two of us. It wasn’t the whole party. Neither him or I have children at home. I have some teammates that have children there are some staff that have children at home. So I’m glad that we were able to kinda contain it as much as possible.”

It’s good to hear that Mitchell doesn’t seem to have let this ruin his relationship as a teammate with Gobert, but it’s understandable that he would need some time to cool off after seeing the way Gobert was acting before the positive tests. That said, the biggest message Mitchell wanted to give everyone following this interview was that he was “a-symptomatic” which means that you can’t tell he has coronavirus even though he’s still extremely contagious. The way he put it is he could be walking down the street or playing in a game right now, would feel perfectly fine himself, and no one would be the wiser that he’s sick. It’s a good message that needs to be understood by everyone as society, in general, goes into a place of social distancing and isolation to help limit the spread of the illness to vulnerable populations.

Written by: Uproxx