NBA suspends season after player tests positive for coronavirus
Events across U.S. cancelled; sportscaster Jim Gray reacts.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was just as stunned as every other fan when he learned the NBA would suspend the season in the wake of a Utah Jazz player testing positive for coronavirus.
Cameras caught Cuban’s reaction on the sideline as he checked his phone and saw the news that the league was going to suspend the season after Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder players were taken off the court before the start of their game Wednesday night.
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The billionaire owner told ESPN he understood that the decision was not about basketball or money and that he had a plan to take care of workers at the American Airlines Center while the season was on hold.
“It's really not about basketball or money,” he said. “If this thing is just exploding to the point where all of the sudden players and others have it, you think about your family. You want to really make sure you're doing this the right way. Now it's much more personal.
NBA SUSPENDS SEASON UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE AFTER PLAYER TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS
“You've seen what's happened in other countries. But just the idea that it's come this close and potentially a couple other players have it — 'stunning' isn't the right word. It's crazy.”
On the arena workers, Cuban told ESPN he reached out to the employees when it became apparent that NBA games may be played without fans and he was trying to figure out what it would cost to support them financially as the NBA is on hold.
“I don't have any details to give, but it's certainly something that's important to me,” he said.
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With more than a dozen games hanging in the balance, the Mavericks would make the playoffs if the season ended right away instead of the NBA continuing with a few more games and pushing the postseason backward.