The sports world has been shaken by the coronavirus in the past few hours. NHL and NBA suspended their regular seasons indefinitely, as did several top soccer leagues. MLB is also calling out the remaining spring training games, which means that the New York Mets won’t be playing for the foreseeable future.
Several professional athletes have tested positive for the COVID-19. Among them are footballer Daniele Rugani and NBA players Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. As it turns out, there is a link with the Mets out of all this.
Donovan Mitchell’s father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., is the Mets’ director of player relations and community engagement. He recently attended an NBA game, when the Utah Jazz (the team for which his son and Gobert play) played the New York Knicks on March 4.
After attending the contest, he returned to Florida the next day and has been a regular in the New York Mets’ spring training complex ever since. No one knows for sure if there is a chance he is infected, but it remains a possibility.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets were planning a statement Thursday to explain how it was proceeding. It unclear, as of now, whether the Mets are planning to test players and staffers in light of the recent developments.
The Donovan Mitchell report came on Thursday morning by ESPN. He was the second known NBA player known to be infected, after Gobert, who tested positive on Wednesday. After the news, NBA decided to suspend operations. MLB followed suit on Thursday.