When the Brooklyn Nets announced four players tested positive for COVID-19, the team and the NBA faced some backlash — including from the mayor of New York City.
However, this was not because the Nets players were ill. It was due to the fact that only one of the four Brooklyn players who tested positive exhibited any symptoms. Because tests have been difficult to come by, the directive from the government had been for individuals to only undergo testing for the novel coronavirus if said individual is displaying symptoms.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has expressed the league and teams are following the directives of public health officials.
Players wanted the testing after their flight back from California, which was explained in further detail in Bloomberg’s piece about “Rich and Powerful Jump to the Front of Line for Tests”:
“Staffers for the Brooklyn Nets boarded a March 13 charter flight from California before the team’s stars and their families got on. The staff disinfected the plane and placed hand sanitizers and masks alongside vitamins in the common area. The NBA had just suspended its season and players were on edge. Some team personnel had coughs and runny noses, so each player was given a piece of paper and asked to write how they were feeling, if they’d been around anyone who was sick, or if they have any family members in a high-risk category.”
Since the Nets revealed four of their players tested positive for COVID-19, Kevin Durant has been the only one to disclose his results. He is one of the four who has COVID-19, though Durant was reportedly asymptomatic.