Report: Cameraman who worked Jazz game in Detroit has coronavirus

When will the NBA resume games?

When will the NBA resume games as normal?

These are two very different questions amid the coronavirus pandemic. It’s possible games return without fans in arenas. That’d mean lost ticket revenue, but at least the league would recoup some money with games on television. If not at least televising games, I don’t see the point for a business like the NBA.

But here’s a harsh warning about the dangers of even limited personal interaction in these times.

Vincent Goodwill and Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports:

A camera operator who shot footage inside the Utah Jazz locker room after a March 7 game in Detroit is in a medically induced coma after being diagnosed with COVID-19, his friends said.

The man, who is in his 50s, has worked for years as part of broadcast crews for NBA games at Little Caesars Arena, according to friends. That included the Jazz-Pistons contest where part of his assignment, according to coworkers, was filming postgame locker-room interviews for the broadcast feed that went back to Utah.

According to a friend, he began feeling ill about a week after the game.

It’s important to remember the cameraman didn’t necessarily contract coronavirus from Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz stars who were the first two NBA players to test positive. The cameraman didn’t necessarily give it to Gobert or Mitchell, either. Coronavirus is spreading throughout society.

But either possibility ought to instill caution.

Cutting post-game interviews, especially in locker rooms is easy enough. But where’s the line of introducing new interactions in a time of social distancing? The NBA should proceed very carefully (far more carefully than it did prior to the stoppage).