Playing when sick no-go now

It is the badge of courage that defines NBA perseverance: the flu game.

For some, the folklore changes over the years, as appears to be the case with Michael Jordan. For others, it is what delineates their determination, with Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James all offering such moments.

But now, during a time like no other in the NBA — or sports as a whole — pushing through a fever isn’t about selflessness. It’s about the opposite.

It is against that landscape, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, that sports are working toward a return — one temperature check at a time.

The practice already has begun as NBA teams open their training facilities for individual workouts. It assuredly will remain mandatory procedure when/if the league returns to training camps and then competition.

And it is going to require a change in perspective amid this new norm.

“Many times, I personally came to the arena with a high temperature, and my only concern was staying hydrated and possibly having an IV,” former NBA forward and current NBA TV analyst Caron Butler told the South Florida Sun Sentinel this week.

The difference, of course, is there is a vaccine for the flu, one teams make available to players on the eve of every season. There is no such inoculation against COVID-19.

“Back when we were playing in the ’90s,” former Heat guard Tim Hardaway told the Sun Sentinel, “we used to play sick all the time. If you had the flu and you could play, you played because it actually made you feel better while you were out there.”

But Hardaway, who went on to become an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, said that eventually changed.

“Now they send you home or back to the hotel to stay away from everyone,” he said. “Now players don’t play when they have a fever because it’s not good for the rest of the team. We played through 100.4.”

With the NBA likely to move quickly toward the playoffs if there is a resumption, such a failed temperature test could have significant implications, even if the player otherwise felt healthy enough to play.

That is what makes so significant the quick-turnaround testing the league is seeking to put in place in advance of a return.

One former Heat player who still works in the league and therefore requested anonymity, told the Sun Sentinel that it was not uncommon for players to attempt to hide symptoms in order to be allowed to play.