Jazz teammates mending relationship
Rudy Gobert and his Utah Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell have spoken to one another weeks after Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus test, prompting the suspension of the NBA season last month, and possibly contaminating Mitchell.
Gobert had joked about the virus during a news conference days before his positive test, teasingly touching all the recording devices reporters had placed on the table before him in the interview room. Days later, he tested positive, with Mitchell later doing the same. Mitchell was angered by Gobert’s cavalier attitude, saying it took time for him “to kind of cool off.”
Gobert apologized in the days after testing positive and, in an Instagram Live video posted Sunday, said his relationship with Mitchell was on the mend.
“It’s true that we didn’t speak for a while after this, but we spoke a few days ago,” Gobert said. “We’re both ready to go out there and try to win a championship for this team.”
Although the NBA, like all sports, isn’t close to returning just yet, Gobert was in full-on athlete-speak.
“It’s not about being unprofessional,” Gobert said. “You know, everyone has got different relationships — it’s never perfect. People that are married, it’s never perfect. So you know, me and my teammates, it’s far from perfect. But at the end of the day, we both want the same thing — and it’s winning. We’re both grown men, and we both are going to do what it takes to win.”
Both men have recovered and Mitchell has had little to say, but in a March 16 appearance on Good Morning America, he acknowledged he’d been angry.
“It took a while for me to kind of cool off, and I read what he said and heard what he said,” Mitchell told Robin Roberts. “I’m glad he’s doing OK. I’m glad I’m well. I’m just really happy ... it wasn’t the whole (team).”
In addition to his apology, Gobert has talked about his failure to take the virus seriously and urged people to maintain physical distance. He also pledged US$500,000 to employee-related relief efforts.