Lakers: LeBron James Is Not Happy with NBA’s COVID Testing Protocols
LeBron James returned from a one game absence earlier this week after it was revealed that he had a false positive on one test.
Earlier in the week, the King implied that something was not right.
After the Clippers loss on Friday, he expressed his frustration with the testing process by the NBA.
"I knew I was going to get cleared because I never, ever felt sick at all..I know you can be asymptomatic but I mean, if what I have was a positive COVID test, then what are we doing? What are we talking about? I just thought it was just handled very poorly. But, you know, it all came into the light just taking the test and being able to get cleared.”
It’s understandable that James is frustrated that he had to miss games due to a false positive. James had initially tested positive on November 29, but tests right before showed that he was negative. James explained how he was put in an unfortunate situation when he went up to Sacramento in preparation to play with his team last Tuesday.
"Usually when you have a positive test, they'll test you right away to make sure. There was not a follow-up test after my positive test. It was straight to isolation and you've been put into protocol. That's the part that kind of angered me. I had to figure out a way to get home from Sacramento by myself. They wouldn't allow anyone to travel with me, no security, no anything, when I traveled back from Sacramento.
And then I had to put my kids in isolation for the time being, the people in my household in isolation for the time being, so it was just a big-time inconvenience. That was the anger part."
James admitted that he had not touched a basketball since last Sunday’s game against the Pistons due to the conflicting Covid testing results. He said his defense was subpar in the fourth quarter.
Towards the end of his press conference, James did circle back and praise the NBA on how they have handled the virus, but he again stated that things could have been dealt with better when he was in Sacramento.
“I think they’ve done a great job, ever since the protocols have been put into place. I just think the way it was handled in Sacramento it was a little different, I will say that. But from a league standpoint they’ve done a hell of a job.”
