Why NBA Players (and other celebs) are being tested for COVID-19 faster than the general population.

A breakdown of why and how certain members of society are getting tested at different rates.

The recent outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, has disrupted daily life for millions of Americans and individuals worldwide. Social distancing and sanitary measures are reactionary steps the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) have suggested, but one of the more critical measures to monitor and track the disease is being tested and diagnosed for the actual virus. A positive reading allows nurses and doctors to study symptoms and prescribe medication as well as conduct trials of new drugs in order to develop a long-term vaccine or other type of solution.

In many regards, the virus escalated and gained national attention when Utah Jazz Center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus and the NBA halted its entire season until further notice. In the following days, several NBA Players received tests and about a half-dozen other NBA Players tested positive. Aside from Gobert, Pistons forward Christian Wood also tested positive in the first two weeks of March. At that point and according to a Tweet from statmuse.com, every single NBA Team was subject to contracting the virus based on their schedule.

NBA teams were being tested as a precautionary measure while the general public was (and at the time of this writing) still required to show specific symptoms to obtain a test. Naturally, the league was criticized for essentially being able to “cut the line” and obtain tests faster than the average person. The rationale behind teams being tested by the bulk is based on several factors as outlined below.

NBA Players are considered “super-spreaders”

The NBA community interacts with large groups constantly and between autograph signings, sponsored appearances, and daily training, players are exposed to dozens, if not thousands, of individuals on a daily basis.

During an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated that testing began for the league’s players because players were “in a category that some would refer to as ‘super-spreaders’ and that is they are young people who are working in close proximity to each other.”

The Jazz collaborated with local health officials in Oklahoma, where they were scheduled to play before Gobert tested positive, and the consensus was to test the entire team.

“We didn’t know exactly what the situation was once we got the one positive test, we didn’t know what the extent of that was,” Oklahoma State Department of Health commissioner Gary Cox said. “So you certainly do want to concentrate on those that have close personal contact with a positive case, and in this case very close contact as far as traveling and things of that nature.”

Days later, the Brooklyn Nets became subject to criticism by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio when the team was tested.

“We wish them a speedy recovery,” de Blasio tweeted. “But, with all due respect, an entire NBA team should NOT get tested for COVID-19 while there are critically ill patients waiting to be tested. Tests should not be for the wealthy, but for the sick.”

Public health officials don’t agree with the mayor’s assessment, according to NBA spokesman Mike Bass: “Public health authorities and team doctors have been concerned that given NBA players’ direct contact with each other and close interactions with the general public, in addition to their frequent travel, they could accelerate the spread of the virus.”

The recommendation to test entire teams because players fall into the “super-spreader” category is consistent with the NCAA’s initial position when it believed their annual tournament could take place without fans. The absence of fans limits the number of individuals who are present and thus prevents the virus from spreading. The most prudent decision, and the one ultimately reached, was to cancel the entire tournament and prevent any spreading of the virus.

Of course, being a vulnerable member of society alone does not get you permission to be tested. Many across the country have underlying health conditions and are in dense areas where it is difficult to follow the CDC’s guidelines. This leads up to the second reason athletes are able to get tested quicker than the general public.

NBA Players have access to private healthcare systems

When the Nets obtained tests for their team, they did so through a private company after several players and staff complained of symptoms of Coronavirus. In a statement, the team stated “[w]e sourced the tests through a private company and paid for them ourselves because we did not want to impact access to CDC’s public resources.”

“Using the test results, we were able to take immediate precautions and strictly isolate the players who tested positive,” the statement continued. “If we had waited for players to exhibit symptoms, they might have continued to pose a risk to their family, friends and the public. Our hope is that by drawing attention to the critical need for testing asymptomatic positive carriers, we can begin to contain the spread and save lives.”

Roche Diagnostics, a company which has recently begun shipping hundreds of thousands of test per week, is just one private company that could be used to circumvent the administrative hurdles in receiving a test. Other private companies such as Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp or academic institutions can provide tests as well.

NBA Players Association Executive Director Michele Roberts blames the government for the inequality when it comes to tests stating, “[t]he problem that more of us can’t get the tests — and I’m not apologetic about saying it — in my view, that rests at the foot of the federal government. They were responsible for making sure we were protected in that regard and I think they failed.”

Roberts continued by opining that “[p]eople should not be having to wait in line. The at-risk population should be the first to be tested. But goddamn it, if the government had done what they were supposed to do, we wouldn’t be competing for an opportunity to be tested.”

NBC News’ Peter Alexander asked President Donald Trump about the issue inquiring “[h]ow are non-symptomatic professional athletes getting tests while others are waiting in line and can’t get them? Do the well-connected go to the front of the line?” “No, I wouldn’t say so,” the President said. “But perhaps that’s the story of life. That does happen on occasion.”

While the federal government’s response has been less than stellar, the combination of being super-spreaders with access to private healthcare creates the perfect scenario for NBA Players to receive priority. Even taking those two points aside, the NBA was simply more prepared than we give them credit for.

The NBA had a plan in place

The NBA is a private corporation and like most companies, has internal protocols and long-term plans. Among these plans is a crisis management guide distributed annually to teams. Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy advised the NBA on the need for the possibility of a pandemic at a 2016 board of governors meeting.

When the Brooklyn Nets celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, league officials asked Dr. David Ho to start advising the league regarding the potential outbreak of the Coronavirus. Senior vice president David Weiss, responsible for NBA player health programs, informed teams of the potential threat in January with a memorandum that read, in part:

“There is currently no vaccine to prevent infection from the Coronavirus. Please remind players and team personnel preventative actions to reduce the spread of the flu apply to the spread of all viruses, including the Coronavirus.” This warning is partly responsible for the quick testing players received.

Silver also discussed the crisis during this year’s All-Star Weekend in Chicago back in February noting:

“[The Coronavirus has] moved to the top of virtually everyone’s agenda,” he said. “I mean, particularly in the Wuhan province. It’s almost hard for us to be having conversations about the broadcasting of games when there’s a major national, if not global, health crisis happening.”

The Coronavirus is a deadly disease that will certainly change the way we all look at life going forward. There is no concrete timeline as to when we can return to some sort of normalcy. NBA Players and athletes in general have been able to use medical resources to their advantage. That said, the NBA administrators simply had better foresight than the federal government. For a league that was told to “shut up and dribble”, they showed us why the NBA community is a leading organization and should be commended for their efforts.

The NBA may have an easier time gaining access to tests, but they are not immune from the disease entirely. Recently, Karl-Anthony Towns posted a message regarding his mother who was in a medically-induced coma due to the Coronavirus. Since that time, his father has also been diagnosed with the virus. Joel Embiid, who has antagonized Towns in the past, has posted encouraging words online and it is that kind of morale and support we must extend as a country and quite frankly, as a species, as we begin the next chapter of our lives.