Report: NBA Recommends 'First Row' Coaches Wear Masks During Gameplay
The NBA shared a 113-page health and safety protocol with its teams Tuesday night, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Athletic's Shams Charania adds, while players and coaches that sit on the front row of the bench will not be required to wear a mask during gameplay, the league is recommending that such coaches do wear masks during games.
Inactive players and coaches that sit in the second row must wear masks at all times, per The Athletic.
The news comes less than two weeks removed from commissioner Adam Silver's appearance on TNT's "Inside the NBA" in which Silver alluded to potentially having certain coaches not be able to serve as bench coaches.
A number of the league's 22 teams have head coaches who are more than 65 years old, making them potentially more vulnerable if they contract COVID-19.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich (71), Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni (69) and Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry (65) are all 65 or older.
Blazers coach Terry Stotts (62) and Mavericks Rick Carlisle (60) are also participating in the league's restart.
NBA referees will not be required to wear masks, according to The Athletic.
Per the league's health and safety manual, all players, team staff and guests will be required to certify in writing that they will adhere to all pre-arrival rules and league rules while on the Walt Disney World campus. Team staff members that violate the safety protocols could be removed from campus without warning to their team.
As reported by ESPN's Zach Lowe, players and team staff will be given the option to use a wearable ring that tracks heart rate, respiration rate and other variables. The device reportedly features an "illness probability score" that would indicate if a player might be at greater risk of contracting coronavirus or has it.
Per Lowe, however, team staff will not have access to the player data from the ring, if a player chooses to wear it, aside from instances in which the "illness probability score" triggers an additional medical review.
Additionally, the NBA will create an anonymous hotline to report potential violations of safety protocols in Orlando, according to The Athletic's Charania and Sam Amick.
Players and team staff will not leave the campus absent extenuating circumstances.
Coronavirus testing is expected to begin June 23 and continue into the campus environment. According to the health and safety protocols, the league “may modify the frequency of coronavirus testing over the course of the restart based on antibody results, pooled testing approaches, or other considerations.”
A positive test is not expected to suspend the season, however, anyone who tests positive for coronavirus must immediately enter "Isolation Housing," which will be a "house, hotel, or other facility" separate from the rest of the NBA campus. They will remain in said housing until they are asymptomatic or cleared.
NBA teams are expected to arrive in Orlando between July 7 and July 9 ahead of the season's restart on July 30. The NBPA also issued a separate manual to players on Tuesday that outlined the various phases of return.
Among other details, the NBPA informed players on Tuesday, "It is critical that every player understand that he has the right to choose not to return to play. Any player who exercises this right will not be disciplined."
