In lieu of the ill-informed comments about the coronavirus from Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. on Wednesday, the New York Knicks' Kevin Knox is making clear how the virus has affected his immediate family. Knox also encouraged the public to take the pandemic seriously.
COVID hit close to home. My mom lost her aunt and my dad lost a close friend yesterday. People this thing is real. Stay safe and help protect lives 🙏🏽😷
— Kev (@KevKnox) July 29, 2020
In a Snapchat Q&A, Michael Porter Jr. put forth a baseless conspiracy theorizing about the coronavirus pandemic that has caused over 150,000 deaths in the U.S. to this point.
“Personally I think the coronavirus is being used obviously for a bigger agenda. It’s being used for population control in terms of being able to control the masses of people. The whole world is being controlled.” he stated.
Porter Jr. also expressed skepticism for a vaccine treatment. “Who knows what will happen when this vaccine comes out? You might have to have the vaccine in order to travel. That’d be crazy.” he said. “I’ve never been vaccinated in my life. I’ve never had any shots or anything like that.”
Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly reportedly addressed Porter Jr. about his reckless remarks downplaying the severity of the virus.




Porter Jr.'s comments also drew a rebuke from Snap, who removed Porter Jr.'s video later in the day.
It looks like Snapchat has removed Michael Porter Jr.’s videos claiming the coronavirus was being overblown and ‘being used for a bigger agenda and population control.’ pic.twitter.com/DxuzTvSMQT
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 29, 2020
While no players (thankfully) have tested positive in the bubble in Orlando, Covid-19 has personally touched in NBA community in a host of ways, including a slew of players and folks within league ciricles contracting the virus during the spring.
Tragically, Jacqueline Towns, the mother of Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, passed away from complications due to Covid-19.