Nets’ Durant tests positive for coronavirus
Four Brooklyn Nets players, including Kevin Durant, have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total to seven known players in the NBA.
The Nets did not name the players Tuesday, but Durant confirmed he was one of them to The Athletic, saying: “Everyone be careful, take care of yourself and quarantine. We're going to get through this.”
The Nets announced that one player is exhibiting symptoms, while the other three are asymptomatic. All four players have been isolated and are under the care of team physicians.
“The health of our players and staff is of the highest priority to the organization and the team is doing everything within its power to ensure that those affected receive the best care possible,” the Nets said.
The Nets added that all players and members of their travel party are being asked to remain isolated and closely monitor their health, but the team's ability to get testing that has been unavailable to so many others drew criticism from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“We wish them a speedy recovery. But, with all due respect, an entire NBA team should NOT get tested for COVID-19 while there are critically ill patients waiting to be tested,” de Blasio wrote on Twitter.
“Tests should not be for the wealthy,
but for the sick.”
HORSE RACING
The Kentucky Derby was postponed until September.
The Derby, America's longest continuously held sports event, had been scheduled for May 2. It will now be run Sept. 5, kicking off Labor Day weekend.
It's the first time the Derby won't be held on its traditional first Saturday in May since 1945, when it was run June 9. The federal government suspended horse racing nationwide for most of the first half of the year before World War II ended in early May, but not in time to hold the first leg of the Triple Crown that month.
The date change still must be approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission at its meeting Thursday. Still to be decided are the dates of the next two legs of horse racing's showcase series – the Preakness and Belmont.
The Derby was first run in 1875 and has gone uninterrupted, even through the Great Depression and World Wars I and II.
TENNIS
The French Open was postponed for about four months, juggling the tennis calendar by shifting from May to September.
The French tennis federation said Tuesday it will hold its 15-day clay-court event at Roland Garros in Paris from Sept. 20 to Oct. 4, instead of May 24 to June 7, “to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved in organizing the tournament.”
This is the first instance of a Grand Slam tournament being affected by the virus that has spread around the world. The next major tennis championship on the calendar is Wimbledon, which is to start in late June in England.
The French Open's new dates place it right after the hard-court U.S. Open is currently scheduled to be held in New York, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13. Having one week between two major championships, played on different surfaces, would be unusually short.
The new timeline for the French Open also conflicts with several WTA and ATP hard-court tournaments already slated for those two weeks, as well as the Laver Cup exhibition event in Boston.
BASEBALL
A second New York Yankees minor leaguer has tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The player, while in self-quarantine, reported fatigue and an elevated temperature to medical personnel with the Yankees, according to the team. The player was tested Sunday and returned to self-quarantine after the positive result.
“We can also report that within the past 48 hours his symptoms have dissipated,” the team said.
The two Yankees minor leaguers are the only baseball players known to have tested positive.
HOCKEY
International Ice Hockey Federation chief René Fasel said it's only a matter of time before the executive council is left with no choice but to cancel the men's world championships.
The 16-team world championships are scheduled for Switzerland starting May 8.
But Fasel said, “there is no chance we can skate.”