After months of mostly laying low, All-Star Rudy Gobert has fully emerged from his quarantine. The now-controversial Utah Jazz big man talked to the media earlier this week as part of the team’s media availability for the season’s July 31 restart. He explored topics surrounding him personally and the crazy few months he’s had.
Gobert, as you may remember, was the first known NBA player to have the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). He tested positive on March 12 and it led to the NBA suspending its season indefinitely on the same day.
The result came after he jokingly touched mics during a press conference, right when the league’s alert for COVID-19 was ramping up.
NBA is suspending its season “until further notice” after Rudy Gobert of Jazz reportedly contracted the #coronavirus. What has make it worse is that he deliberately touched all the mics a few days ago during a press briefing to tell the public that the disease was not a big deal. pic.twitter.com/sSd97adIxr
— Ezra Cheung (@ezracheungtoto) March 12, 2020
Gobert was immediately shamed by fans on social media, and it worsened when more details emerged. It was revealed that he was also mocking the precautions while in the team locker room as he touched his teammates’ belongings and various other things in the room. Soon after, co-All-Star Donovan Mitchell was also found to have COVID-19.
What also added fuel to the major news, particularly in the NBA world, is what Gobert and Mitchell meant to the Jazz. They are not just random teammates – as All-Stars, they are the team’s 1-2 punch and act as the anchor on defense and offense, respectively.
Fortunately, the two got cleared of the virus weeks after. But, of course, fans and their power through social media are unforgiving, especially during a time where everyone is quarantined within their homes and have all the time in the world. The hate messages and memes just kept pouring in on Gobert’s social media feed and inbox.
Here’s how the Jazz big man described going through that storm (via ESPN):
“Obviously, when you have the whole world judging you or threatening you or sending you a lot of negative energy and stuff like that, it’s something that I would say is not easy as a human being … But, at the same time, people are just judging you on the perception they have and the perception you get from sometimes it can be one picture, one video or one interview, one action. So, people don’t really know you.
People around me, they really know me, they know who I am and that’s what matters to me … I won’t be able to control everyone’s perception of me, but I can control my actions, I can control the things I do for the people around me, the community. The things I do for my teammates on the court, off the court, all that stuff I can control it and that’s what really matters to me.”
With the 2019-20 season’s return getting and closer and closer, though, all Gobert can do now is to try moving forward. He’s still one of the best defensive big men in the game – a two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year playing in his first All-Star season.
While the criticism and the public shaming he dealt with were self-inflicted, it’s still nice to see that he’s slowly but surely standing back up and expressing positivity for what’s ahead.
“I’m happy now. I’m in a good place, you know … And I’m happy that I get the joy back from playing basketball with my team and the competitiveness is back. I’m ready to try to go out there and try to win the championship. That’s the goal. And to be honest, after everything we’ve been through as a team and as human beings, it would be a great comeback.”
As for his strained relationship with Mitchell, it appears that they are still working on piecing it back together. The good thing, though, is there’s always “respect” between them, as Gobert described.
Rudy Gobert says his relationship with Donovan Mitchell “isn’t perfect…but as long as we respect one another, share the same goals and do what’s best for the team, that’s what matters.”
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) July 3, 2020
We’ll soon see how healed things are. Gobert, Mitchell, and the rest of the Jazz are set to open training camp over the weekend. Their scrimmage games, meanwhile, will start on July 24 (Manila time) against the Phoenix Suns.
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