New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton became the first known person within NFL circles to have coronavirus when he came forward with his diagnosis on Thursday.
Payton insisted he wanted to share his diagnosis in order to send a message and promote awareness about curbing the spread of the illness. He also said practicing “social distancing” is only useful if it is taken seriously.
The longtime head coach urged citizens to learn more about coronavirus and understand what they can best do to stop the spread of it.
Here's what the Saints coach had to say about his diagnosis and how others can respond moving forward, courtesy of Adam Schefter of ESPN):
“This is not just about social distancing,” Payton told ESPN. “It's shutting down here for a week to two weeks. If people understand the curve, and understand the bump, we can easily work together as a country to reduce it. Take a minute to understand what the experts are saying. It's not complicated to do what they're asking of us. Just that type of small investment by every one of us will have a dramatic impact.
“I was fortunate to be in the minority, without the serious side effects that some have. I'm lucky. Younger people feel like they can handle this, but they can be a carrier to someone who can't handle it. So we all need to do our part. It's important for every one of us to do our part.”
Payton had previously been skeptical of the NFL league year (which officially started Wednesday after year) beginning on time, legal tampering and free agency have been proceeding as planned.
The NFL is fortunate to be in the offseason, but Payton still hopes that league personnel and persons around the country will band together to help end the spread.
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