NBA Player Christian Wood ‘Upset’ His Positive Coronavirus Results Leaked
An NBA player, who was one of the first to test positive for COVID-19 in the league, is reportedly upset that the test results leaked before he could tell his mother.
Detroit Pistons forward Christian Wood has now recovered from the deadly coronavirus but his coach Dwayne Casey explained to ESPN that Wood was not happy that his name was leaked to media outlets on March 14 that an unidentified player had tested positive for the virus.
Wood had primarily guarded Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert during the team’s March 7th matchup.
After the Pistons received the results for Wood, the team was briefed by the hospital on the Hospital Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) laws that protect the privacy of patients.
“That’s why we were so mystified when it leaked out,” Casey said to The Athletic. “I was very unhappy about that. I told our staff, ‘This is unprofessional. This can’t happen again.’ It was so unfair to our player.”
As of Sunday evening March (29), there are 10 known cases of coronavirus in the NBA, according to the New York Post. Although teams have not released the names of the players, Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics, Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz have all gone public.
Smart, Gobert and Mitchell have each been officially cleared of the virus since.
The Los Angeles Times reports that two players from the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks owner James Dolan, three members from the Philadelphia 76ers organization, and a member of the Denver Nuggets have also tested positive for COVID-19.
The NBA suspended the league's 2019-2020 season on March 11th.
For the latest on the coronavirus, check out BET’s blog on the virus, and contact your local health department or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
