Austin Rivers on Rudy Gobert and COVID-19: ‘I feel bad for him’

“I feel bad for him,” Austin Rivers said of Gobert. “Obviously what he did wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but he didn’t know he had it.”

Two days before his positive coronavirus (COVID-19) test led to the immediate and indefinite suspension of the 2019-20 NBA season, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert appeared to joke about it.

During an interview session with reporters, the 2020 All-Star made it a point to touch all of their tape recorders and microphones.

After testing positive, Gobert apologized for being “careless” and said he hopes his story will cause everyone to take the virus more seriously. Teammate Donovan Mitchell also tested positive, with reports indicating that he was frustrated with Gobert regarding his initial carelessness.

Understandably, Gobert was widely criticized for his actions in the media and from fans across various social media channels.

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I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of concern and support over the last 24 hours. I have gone through so many emotions since learning of my diagnosis…mostly fear, anxiety, and embarrassment. The first and most important thing is I would like to publicly apologize to the people that I may have endangered. At the time, I had no idea I was even infected. I was careless and make no excuse. I hope my story serves as a warning and causes everyone to take this seriously. I will do whatever I can to support using my experience as way to educate others and prevent the spread of this virus . I am under great care and will fully recover. Thank you again for all your support. I encourage everyone to take all of the steps to stay safe and healthy. Love.

A post shared by Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) on

As Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers sees it, that punishment is sufficient — especially given the remorse that Gobert has shown since. In a live Instagram Q&A with fans on Monday night, here’s what the 27-year-old Rivers said when asked about his feelings toward Gobert:

He’s got it hard enough. I’ve got nothing negative to say about Rudy, and I hope he gets well. He’s gotten it from all angles of the media.

I feel bad for him. Obviously what he did wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but he didn’t know he had it at the time. Everybody was making jokes.

It’s easy for everybody to point the finger, but I’m sure a lot of people were doing exactly what he was doing, too. I hope he gets better.

In updates shared via the NBA’s social media channels, both Gobert and Mitchell have said they are doing well since testing positive.

According to The New York Times, data as of Tuesday morning showed 5,002 cases of coronavirus in the United States, including 93 deaths. The “best-case scenario” for the NBA to resume play is believed to be mid-to-late June, per the latest report from ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.

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