Danuel House Jr. has missed the past two games due to “personal reasons” — reasons masked by the NBA until the league concedes a verdict. The Houston Rockets sharpshooter is currently under investigation for allegedly bringing in a female COVID-19 testing official into his hotel room, which would violate the league's health and safety protocol.

House has maintained his innocence, and the Rockets were apparently “blindsided” by the NBA’s decision to keep him out of action, noting there had been little direct communication between the league office and team officials, according to Ben Golliver of The Washington Post.

Houston has also received no form of evidence while the NBA and National Basketball Players Association work out the situation:

“The NBA is treating [House] as guilty until proven innocent for safety reasons,” said one person with knowledge of the situation. “They're prioritizing their perception of safety over everything else. The NBPA feels its hands are tied. Any time [the union] talks about due process or presumption of guilt, [the NBA] immediately says, ‘Safety, safety, safety.’ There has to be some limit or balance.”

“If it was a star player, there’s no way [the NBA] would handle it this way,” said a person close to House with direct knowledge of the investigation. “They want to make an example out of somebody.”

House went scoreless in Game 1 of the series against the Los Angeles Lakers and bounced back in Game 2 to score 13 points in a loss. He hasn't stepped foot on the hardwood since.