One of the biggest names in sports has been diagnosed with the Coronavirus.
Kevin Durant — a former NBA MVP and scoring champion and two-time world champion — shared the news himself with a reporter this evening.
“Everyone be careful, take care of yourself and quarantine,” Durant told journalist Shams Charania of The Athletic. “We’re going to get through this.”
Durant made his candid admission shortly after multiple outlets confirmed that a total of four Brooklyn Nets players had tested positive for the virus.
The names of the other three players are not known at the moment, with Durant presumably choosing to go public with his identity as a way to send a word of precaution to others around the world.
With so many schools and businesses closed throughout the United States and people panicking, or even ignoring advice to stay inside as much as humanly possible…
… it can only help to spread this important message for huge stars such as Durant to hammer home this point.
We salute him for doing so.
Durant signed as free agent with the Nets a few weeks after suffering a torn Achilles heel in the NBA Finals as a member of the Golden State Warriors.
As a result, he has not played at all in the 2019-2020 season.
This season was postponed indefinitely last Wednesday night after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was also diagnosed with virus.
Since then, star Donovan Mitchell and breakout Detroit Pistons player Christian Woods have also come down with COVID-19.
In the Nets statement, meanwhile, the team said of the players who were diagnosed, three were asymptomatic while the fourth is currently exhibiting symptoms.
We don’t know into which of these categories Durant falls.
“All four players are presently isolated and under the care of team physicians,” reads this message, which was posted by multiple reporters.
It continues:
“The organization is currently notifying anyone who has had known contact with the players, including recent opponents, and is working closely with state and local health authorities on reporting.”
The Nets were in Los Angeles to play the Lakers when the league shut down games — and sources now confirm that all the Lakers players will soon also get tested.
This includes LeBron James.
As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 187,100 people have tested positive for the coronavirus around the globe, according to the New York Times.
The United states has seen at least 5,303 cases since the outbreak began, and 96 people have died in the country so far.
Along with Durant, such stars as Tom Hanks and Idris Elba have been diagnosed.
Please, everyone, heed the advice of experts… keep your distance from as many people as you can… and let’s all be responsible citizens of the world.