A week in quarantine on NBA’s bubble campus not so bad
Mark Medina column: Seven days inside hotel room filled with daily tests, Zoom calls.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The knock on the door sounded different this time.
For the past week, that sound signaled that either someone dropped off a few bags of food outside my door or that three health officials were waiting to test me for the coronavirus. This time, it meant something else. When I opened the door at 2:12 p.m. ET Sunday, an NBA health officer simply left my credential hanging by the doorknob. It meant I could finally leave my hotel room after spending a week at the NBA Disney campus in quarantine and receiving seven consecutive negative tests.
After changing quickly into a T-shirt, shorts and sandals, I darted out of my room. It seemed so basic, but I wanted to feel what it was like to be outside. I soon ventured out into a whole new world. I enjoyed the new fantastic point of view of both the Coronado Springs’ pool and the Lago Dorado lake that separated the various campus properties.
I checked out the hotel’s gym, its fountain and its pickleball court – all fantastic places I never knew. There are still people and signs that can tell us “no” on where to go. We all have to wear NBA credentials with a chip that beeps if we are within six feet of someone. At least I no longer remained confined in a hotel room, though. On Sunday afternoon and evening, I enjoyed the sweltering heat, the refreshing pool and the socially distant conversations with NBA officials and reporters.
While I surely won’t miss remaining quarantined for a week, that time left me appreciating what awaits, instead of complaining about what I could not do. I had no time to feel bored. Not when I had countless Zoom and phone interviews to arrange, radio and television appearances to make and articles to write. I had no reason to complain about the food or navigating the logistics on when I would eat and receive tests. Not when over 140,000 people have died from COVID-19 and 50 million people have become unemployed because of the pandemic. I had no reason to feel stir crazy. Not when I had plenty of Facetime with family members and friends, television shows and books to keep me entertained during my rare free time.
Often, the arrangement simply amused me.
Countless radio and TV hosts asked me dramatically how I was holding up as if I was in prison instead of an air-conditioned hotel room with amenities. So did friends and colleagues. I always assured them I felt fine, and I had nothing to complain about. I understood the NBA’s want to maximize health and safety since the credentialed reporters had flown commercial flights and had not been formally tested beforehand.
When I was on a Zoom call one day with Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle on his various initiatives aimed at addressing systemic racism with a selected handful of reporters, three health care workers knocked on my door for my daily test. I felt uncomfortable answering since it would require me to get away from a call on a sensitive subject. So I stayed on the Zoom call and ignored the pounding. I soon learned I should answer even if it requires me to be rude.
So when I interviewed Warriors forward Draymond Green the following day about his various social justice projects and his appearance on a new TNT show, I changed a different tact when the health officials knocked on my door. After alerting Green about what happened, he laughed and willingly answered questions through speakerphone as I answered the door. I stifled laughter as I received a mouth and two nose swabs while hearing Green wonder aloud what it would be like to work with Charles Barkley after the two have traded insults in recent years.
Other times, the arrangement left me more comfortable with how the NBA season will play out.
The NBA outlined its extensive planning with 113 pages of health and safety protocols, something that has sparked strong praise among health experts. The league tests everyone daily and required everyone daily to report any symptoms, their temperature and their oxygen levels with various technological devices. It has held a handful of NBA players accountable for inadvertently leaving the league campus. It has enforced strict social distancing and mask-wearing rules. It has shown ongoing improvement with any of the logistical hiccups. In other words, the NBA has handled this setup the exact opposite of how President Donald Trump has handled the pandemic.
Therefore, it became hard for me to fret too much about spending seven days in a hotel room. After mostly working from home, and only venturing out for exercise and grocery store runs for the past four months, what is an extra seven days of confinement going to do? Still, I am looking forward to a more adventurous week ahead.
On Monday, I began observing practices and interviewing NBA coaches and players in person while wearing a mask and standing at least six feet apart. On Wednesday, I will watch team scrimmages and see which teams seem most equipped to embrace the competition again and return into game shape. On July 30, I will attend the NBA’s resumed season openers and see for myself what it is like to attend a game without any fans. I can finally eat food on campus or through food delivery instead of settling for the options delivered outside my door. I can get tested at a nearby site instead of worrying that appointment might interfere with an interview.
Things won’t ever return fully to normal here. Though I can attend news conferences after games and practices, I have no access to team locker rooms. I can pull a player or coach to the side for a few minutes. I can’t meet any source at any team hotel for an interview or even just to catch up off the record.
Still, there will likely be a hundred things to see, if not more, on this magic carpet ride. I am looking forward toward exploring this dazzling place I never knew.