Donovan Mitchell on Rudy Gobert: ‘It took a while for me to kind of cool off’

Jazz teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert reportedly have a rift between them after their coronavirus diagnoses.

Mitchell’s first public comments since his positive test appeared to include a shot at Gobert, whose recklessness in the days prior reportedly included going out of his way to touch his teammates and their belongings. Gobert has since apologized and put his money where his mouth is.

Good Morning America:

EXCLUSIVE: “I think that’s the scariest part about this virus is that you may seem fine.” @NBA star @spidadmitchell speaks out for the first time from isolation since being diagnosed with COVID-19, despite being “asymptomatic.” https://t.co/i9rZzYvW4s pic.twitter.com/wZJBteQjtV

— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 16, 2020

Mitchell:

It took a while for me to kind of cool off. And I read what he said, and I heard what he said. So, I’m glad he’s doing OK. I’m glad I’m doing well. I’m just really happy – to be honest, Robin – that it’s just, I hate to say, just two of us. But it wasn’t the whole party. At the end of the day, neither him nor I have children at home. I know I have some teammates that have children, have some staff that have children at home. So, I’m glad that we were able to kind of contain it as much as possible.

Missing from that answer: Mitchell saying he’s now good with Gobert.

That’ll probably happen in time. But Michell doesn’t sound as if he’s there yet. His resentment is understandable.

Mitchell also addressed a far more important issue in that interview:

I’m asymptomatic. I don’t have any symptoms. I can walk down the street. If it wasn’t public knowledge that I was sick, you wouldn’t know it. And I think that’s the scariest part about this virus, is that you may seem fine, be fine, and you never know who you may be talking to, who they’re going home to.

You might be young, healthy and at low risk of experiencing significant effects of coronavirus. But this is why social distancing is important. You could be carrying coronavirus without knowing it. You don’t know whom you’ll interact with. You don’t know whom people you interact with will interact with.

We should all do our part to limit the spread.