NBA’s inconsistency on COVID policies? Follow the money
The NBA’s handling lately of COVID-19 is a microcosm of society’s: rules don’t have to make sense when money’s involved, and the only consistent pattern is inconsistency.
The league is clearly pushing hard to get through its Christmas schedule, their marquee regular-season date with a reported $25 to $30 million booked in advertisement revenue.
In the meantime, teams are patchworking gameday rosters and throwing out a diminished product. You can’t blame the league for not foreseeing the contagiousness of the Omicron variant, but the reaction leading up to the Christmas slate would make Switzerland proud.
For instance: l On one hand, over 100 players were sent into COVID-19 protocols in the last month, leaving teams severely shorthanded and scrambling to avoid postponements; On the other hand, the league ceased mandating daily testing, even for teams like the Knicks that are enduring outbreaks.
l On one hand, they’re trying to limit contact from outside “Tiers” to players and staff because it’s an airborne virus; On the other hand, they’re packing indoor arenas with 20,000 unmasked paying fans (emphasis on paying), most with no vaccination requirements, selling them beer and seating them courtside.
l On one hand, all team employees are required to be vaccinated and boosted; On the other hand, the players, with the backing of their powerful union, are optionally vaccinated and optionally boosted.
l On one hand, the NBA is telling teams to fill rosters with lower-level replacements during this widespread COVID-19 outbreak, giving heavy minutes to players who’d otherwise be in the G-League; On the other hand, those tickets aren’t refundable.
You get the point. There’s an appearance of social responsibility but the NBA is operating with the reality that money is on the line. To be fair to the NBA and every sports league, there’s no blueprint for how to handle an evolving virus, and the widespread availability of a vaccine has changed the calculus. As commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday, COVID-19 isn’t going away and we must all figure the best way to live with its existence.
But the current Switzerland stance doesn’t do much for anybody.
KNICKS MAKE HOUSE CALL
With five players still in COVID-19 protocols and Derrick Rose out for over a month, the Knicks signed veteran Danuel House on a 10-day deal ahead of Thursday’s game against the Wizards at Madison Square Garden.
House, a 28-year-old wing, was waived by the rebuilding Rockets last week after averaging 4.8 points in 14.6 minutes over 16 games this season. He was with Houston for over three years and might be best remembered for getting booted out of the Orlando bubble in 2020 for having an unauthorized guest in his room, reportedly a female COVID-19 test taker.
House represents the fourth player the Knicks signed via the hardship exception amid their COVID-19 outbreak. Obi Toppin, RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes cleared COVID-19 protocols ahead of Thursday’s game, but there’s no guarantee they’ll play right away after so much time off. The Knicks have been cautious in the past about ramping up conditioning following a COVID-19 infection.