Minutes after the Los Angeles Dodgers bagged the World Series on Tuesday, a bizarre twist in the narrative came about in the form of third baseman Justin Turner testing positive for COVID-19. Turner was pulled out in the middle of the game once the team learned about his positive result, but oddly enough, the 35-year-old returned to the field to celebrate the title win with his teammates.
This naturally drew a widespread reaction on the mean streets of Twitter, with plenty of people upset with how Turner and the Dodgers blatantly broke social distancing protocols:
2020 in one photo pic.twitter.com/sFIjhfBpuO
— Matt Vereen (@MattVereen) October 28, 2020
With no mask? I mean…make this make sense. https://t.co/fpRO9s4JAK
— Joy Taylor (@JoyTaylorTalks) October 28, 2020
Notable diff. here re: timing & when the Dodgers/MLB knew, but doesn’t change that Turner shouldn’t have played on inconclusive & 100%, no question shouldn’t have been allowed on the field after the game. And why would MLB use tests that aren’t returned in time for game? Suspect https://t.co/dV23OWRJt8
— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) October 28, 2020
https://twitter.com/molly_knight/status/1321327807734050828
Justin Turner walking out to celebrate after testing positive for COVID twice pic.twitter.com/uKnO3gysJH
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) October 28, 2020
MLB 2020 season is going to be remembered for how it ended, Justin Turner and ultimately judged a failure
— 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 (@exavierpope) October 28, 2020
The answer is he went back out and nobody stopped him. He was asked to isolate and didn’t. https://t.co/AFyWN0Xt0b
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 28, 2020
There were numerous other reactions, including plenty of people calling for the head of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for letting this happen. Turner was apparently asked to self-isolate as soon as the Dodgers learned about his positive test result. The Dodgers veteran simply refused to comply, and for some, this is a blatant showing of disrespect to both the league and Manfred.
It's not hard to comprehend where these aggrieved folks are coming from. I mean, we understand that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Turner, and one that he worked extremely hard for. Then again, he literally put the lives of his entire team and others on the field and in the stadium at risk with his decision to join in on the celebrations.
This controversy will surely continue to be a point of discussion in the coming days.
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