TNT analyst Charles Barkley offered his support to Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert amid the whole coronavirus fiasco.
The 7-foot-1 Frenchman has been the subject scrutiny across the globe for his careless and nonchalant approach to the pandemic virus. He ended up testing positive for the dreaded COVID-19 on Wednesday.
Barkley, who was unable to join the rest of the TNT crew of Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson on Thursday, recently confirmed that he put himself on self-quarantine and is currently awaiting the results of his coronavirus test.
Instead of lambasting Gobert like the rest of the world, the NBA Hall of Famer said that “The Stifletower” was simply goofing around as most players do.
“I want to give my best for Rudy Gobert. I know people are piling on him for what happened. He made an honest mistake. Kenny and Shaq know, we all touch each other's stuff every single day. When you're on an NBA team, that's the best thing about playing, screwing around with your teammates. I know he feels awful, I just want to give him my best,” Barkley shared.
Charles Barkley stands up for Rudy Gobert, says it was an "honest mistake" pic.twitter.com/j8G5OnP3Qt
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 13, 2020
The NBA promptly canceled the supposed Jazz versus Oklahoma City Thunder game on Wednesday. The cancellation was shortly after Gobert's test results came back positive. The entire Jazz roster, including coaches and staff, were all subject to tests. Gobert also passed along the virus to Jazz superstar Donovan Mitchell.
Earlier reports indicated that backup point guard Emmanuel Mudiay tests' also came out positive, but he debunked that claim on Thursday.
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