Nuggets coach Michael Malone: ‘Shame on you, NBA. This is crazy. I miss my family’

Families are joining NBA players in the bubble.

Coaches – despite their lobbying – remain isolated from their families.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone sounds fed up.

Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group:

Denver coach Mike Malone points out that it’s Day 60 in the bubble and he thinks it’s “criminal in nature” for the NBA not to let coaches bring in families. “I say shame on you, NBA. This is crazy. I miss my family.” pic.twitter.com/oBTve7zB3m

— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) September 4, 2020

Malone:

This is day number 60, and the reason I bring that up is because the players have their families here, which they deserve, which is the right thing to do. The referees are allowed to bring one guest, which is great for the referees. But coaches – the coaches are not allowed to bring anybody. I say shame on you, NBA. This is crazy. I miss my family. And I think I speak for me. I speak for my coaches and probably all the coaches down here. Sixty days, and not having access and not being granted the privilege to have my family come here, to me, is criminal in nature. And that shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be at all. So, I wanted to get that off my chest.

The NBA isn’t doing this just to be cruel. Limiting the number of people in the bubble is a key way to prevent coronavirus from infiltrating.

However, that’s obviously miserable for the coaches.

Finding the right balance between safety and comfort amid the coronavirus pandemic is not easy.

Unlike coaches, players and referees have collective bargaining agreements with the league. That helped them secure more favorable terms for reporting to the bubble.

Coaches have a union, too, though. This seems like a pertinent cause for the National Basketball Coaches Association. Pressure on the NBA – which Malone is applying – could prompt the league to bend.

Silver lining for Malone: The way Denver played in Game 1 against the Clippers, he might get re-united with his family soon.