The coronavirus pandemic has affected millions of people across the United States, including Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.
A reminder: Karl-Anthony Towns tragically lost his mother, Jacqueline Cruz, to COVID-19 in April. The former No. 1 overall pick revealed Friday he also lost six other family members to COVID, and has taken it upon himself to keep his relations that much more informed:
“I'm the one looking for answers to try to keep my family well informed and make all the moves necessary to keep them alive,” Towns said, via Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
Karl-Anthony Towns was also very open about how the death of his mother and the pandemic at large have affected his mental well-being. The 25-year-old showed some vulnerability, saying basketball has not necessarily been a positive distraction:
“I've never been in a mentally good place since (his mother) went in the hospital,” Towns said, via Krawczynski. “I wouldn't say (basketball) is therapy for me at all.”
The nature of Cruz's battle, in particular, made her death that much more heartbreaking.
Karl-Anthony Towns' mother went into a medically-induced coma in late-March, and there was little knowledge as to her condition going forward. Unfortunately, the efforts to keep Cruz stable failed, as she died about three weeks after going into the coma.
Now, Karl-Anthony Towns revealed more family members have passed, which is hard enough to envision for any one person, let alone a 25-year-old already without his mother.
The Timberwolves organization and players from around the league passed condolences along to Karl-Anthony Towns after his mother passed. Needless to say, he will need that support heading into the new season.
Karl-Anthony Towns' openness and honesty also serve to remind fans of a very real truth: athletes are people, too, and some things are much bigger than basketball.
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