Voicing COVID-19 concern
PawSox, BC hoops broadcaster Maurer details coronavirus scare
Josh Maurer knew the risks were growing, but the games went on and his responsibility to call them continued.
Maurer, the Pawtucket Red Sox’ play-by-play broadcaster who works as the Boston College men’s basketball radio broadcaster during the college hoops season, faced a hectic travel schedule in early March calling the Eagles’ games. But as the growing coronavirus threat continued to spread globally, it forced Maurer to take extra precautions.
The broadcaster’s experience, which resulted in the realization that he was probably infected with the virus, offers a window into why sports leagues across the country are shut down indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the span of a week, Maurer’s travels took him on two round trips that included eight different flights and seven airports. Maurer, who lives in Providence, had to fly commercially out of T.F. Green Airport, where he took a connecting flight to Tallahassee to call BC’s game at Florida State on March 7. He returned home before leaving a day later to fly to Greensboro, N.C., for the ACC tournament.
“I was very reluctant to travel at that time, but the games were being played and it’s my job and I had to do it,” Maurer said.
Maurer thought his best bet to protect himself from the growing virus was to take precautions. So, following guidelines put out by medical professionals, he went to Walmart the day before his flight to Florida to buy a container of Lysol disinfectant wipes. On every flight, he wiped down the tray tables and seat belts and washed his hands as much as he could in every airport and arena he was in.
Not only were the games being played, the arenas were crowded. There was a sellout crowd of 11,500 at the Florida State game, and packed houses on March 10 and 11 at Greensboro Coliseum, the site of the ACC tourney.
“I was being, I thought, pretty vigilant, but the reality is, I think in the course of that week between going to Florida State, and then coming home and then going to the ACC tournament,” Maurer said, “I think I came into contact casually with more people during that week-long stretch than I do in any other week of my year.
“There were a lot of fans there.
So as careful as you might try to be, I just know that I exposed myself to the risk more than I should have.”
On March 11, the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic, and Maurer called BC’s seasonending loss to Notre Dame that night, the same night the NBA suspended its season. By Thursday, as Maurer was flying home, virtually everything in the sports world had been canceled or suspended, including the cancellation of the ACC tournament.
Back home in Providence, Maurer self-quarantined himself. But by the time he woke up Saturday, he thought he had a fever and started experiencing shortness of breath, which as he found out, were two of the top symptoms of coronavirus. He called around to see if he could get tested, but kept getting told he couldn’t. He talked to multiple doctors, including Red Sox team doctor Brian Busconi, who told him to assume he had coronavirus.
Maurer’s symptoms got worse but manageable. But after watching a press conference from Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, who claimed the state was doing well with the health crisis, and being told by another doctor that he couldn’t get a test, Maurer took to Twitter on Monday to express his frustration with his situation and help offer some perspective.
That’s when Cody Chrusciel, who used to work with Maurer at UMass and is now in charge of broadcasting operations at Princeton, reached out to him. Chrusciel had hired Maurer to fill in for
Princeton’s basketball game at Brown on Feb. 28, and Chrusciel told him that Maurer’s broadcast partner that night had recently tested positive for coronavirus.
“It blew my mind,” Maurer said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, maybe that was it.’ I’ve been talking about all these airports I’ve been in, all these hotels, all these arenas, maybe I just got it from this guy three weeks ago when we did a game at Brown.
“And if that’s the case, how many people did I put at risk that whole week when I was traveling? Because I would have been infected by then. … It’s definitely a possibility.”
Maurer said he feels better and hopes he’s turned a corner this week. But he’s still frustrated by the remarks made by Raimondo, who cited the number of confirmed cases in Rhode Island as the base to her claim that the state is doing well in dealing with the virus.
“I’m thinking to myself, it’s just … can you imagine how many people there are like me, who are feeling sick and are trying to get a test or aren’t even trying to get a test?” Maurer said. “There has to be hundreds if not thousands in the state alone like me. It felt so short-sighted, and it made me think about the bigger picture considering how many other governors or mayors or town leaders who are having to make the same sort of decisions about how strict the guidelines in their municipality need to be, while having dramatically underreported information to base that decision off of.”