Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson bared his full support for Donovan Mitchell following his decision to sit out Wednesday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. While the two-time All-Star was listed as unavailable due to “personal reasons,” news broke out that it was due to the team's scary plane incident on Tuesday.
Per Tim McMahon of ESPN, Clarkson said he fully understands Mitchell's reservations and his eventual decision to not join the team in their rescheduled flight to Memphis.
Jordan Clarkson: "It was a crazy situation. I understand fully why [Donovan Mitchell] didn't come."
Mitchell didn't fly to Memphis for tonight's game due to "personal reasons" after the Jazz's flight was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 1, 2021
Mitchell, who has already publicly admitted his fear of flying in the past, was aboard the Jazz chartered plane alongside his teammates when they had to make an emergency landing after hitting a flock of birds. Spida was quick to tweet an emoji reaction after they escaped that terrifying ordeal unharmed.
🙏🏾
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) March 30, 2021
Looks like that harrowing incident triggered an old phobia of Donovan Mitchell, as he elected to stay home in Utah for the time being. Lucky for him, he has supportive teammates like Jordan Clarkson who looks out for his mental health. Earlier, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder also opted not to discuss Mitchell's status and claimed fans and the media should respect what he's going through.
Mitchell, meanwhile, stay tuned as the Jazz ran away with a 111-107 road win against the Grizz, improving their record to 36-11. Clarkson picked up the slack for Mitchell, scoring 24 points in 26 minutes, while Mike Conley Jr. and Bogdan Bogdanovic also got it going with 26 and 23 points, respectively.
The Jazz will be back home against the Chicago Bulls this Friday and Mitchell will likely be ready for the next game.
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