Miami Heat Trainer Jay Sabol in Charge of Keeping Players in Safe Environment

After the first day of practice, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made sure to credit team trainer Jay Sabol for his working in helping keep the facility safe as possible.

Spoelstra said Sabol is in charge of everything COVID-19 related.

“I cannot say enough about Jay Sabol and the time he has been putting in,” Spoelstra said. “I think for the foreseeable future he’s not even going to be our lead trainer. He really is our chief operating officer with Covid protocols. He’s been immersed, 12, 14 hours a day, just on league protocols, the memos and putting together our protocol on top of that. It’s really incredible.”

The Heat haven't had any issue since the NBA restart in July. Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn were among the players to test positive last season.

“If you don’t have the right kind of staff able to handle that, it’s probably too overwhelming,” Spoelstra said. “But Jay has really taken on that responsibility. It’s a major responsibility. With the help of his staff, we’re able to create this mini-bubble in our work space. It’s not a small undertaking.”

The Heat return to practice at AmericanAirlines Arena today. They open the preseason next Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans. Their first regular season game is Dec. 25 against the Pelicans, who are led by forward Zion Williamson.

TWITTER: @ShandelRich

Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here

Subscribe to our YouTube channel here

For any Heat or NBA questions, please email shandelrich@gmail.com