Lebron James, who returned to the court this Friday with the Los Angeles Lakers after his false positive for coronavirus, criticized the NBA for the “very poor” handling of this situation, which made him isolate himself for several days and miss the match against the Sacramento Kings of the Tuesday.
“I knew they were going to take me out of the coronavirus protocol. I never, never felt sick at all. I know you can be asymptomatic (…) but I just think this was handled in a very poor way,” he said at the wheel of press after the defeat of the Lakers against their neighbors and rivals Los Angeles Clippers (115-119).
The Lakers star entered the NBA’s coronavirus protocol on Tuesday and was low in the duel that day in which the purple and gold defeated the Sacramento Kings (92-117).
Most likely then, James would miss several games until he met the requirements to play again, but the NBA authorized his immediate return to the competition on Thursday after certifying that his positive for coronavirus was not such.
The NBA explained in a statement that the player tested negative in two tests conducted 24 hours apart, but the ESPN network went further and assured that James had tested negative in eight different coronavirus tests since he returned to Los Angeles from Sacramento.
In his first intervention before the media after what happened, James said Friday that this false positive incident made him feel “confused, frustrated and angry.”
Asked about what exactly it was that angered him about how they handled his tests, James detailed his criticisms.
“My first test was negative and then my second test was positive. Normally, when you have a positive test they do another test at the moment to make sure. But there was no test right after my positive: they sent me straight to isolation,” he said.
“That’s the part that annoys me,” he added, explaining that he had to return from Sacramento without anyone accompanying him and that later he had to organize all his family and staff so that they were not in contact with him for several days.
James He clarified that the NBA has done “a great job” to combat the pandemic, but considered that in Sacramento and in his particular case things were done “a little differently” from what the protocol dictates.
The Lakers figure revealed in September that he had been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
This incident with the coronavirus protocol is one more stage of the turbulent start of the season that “King James” is having.
Regardless of the confrontation that he did not play against the Kings, James he has missed ten more games due to various physical problems and was suspended for one game after being sent off for hitting the face of Isaiah Stewart of the Detroit Pistons.
Against the Clippers, James He had 23 points tonight (9 of 23 shooting), 11 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Lakers have not started the course on the right foot and right now they are seventh in the Western Conference (12-12).
Those in purple and gold bet for the 2021-2022 season on a risky and very veteran project that has united in the same squad Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Russell westbrook and Carmelo anthony.