Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — On Sunday, Rudy Gobert refuted reports his relationship with Donovan Mitchell was at a breaking point.
On Friday, a story in The Athletic quoted an unnamed source that stated the All-Star duo’s relationship was “unsalvageable” after both had tested positive for COVID-19.
Gobert had previously admitted to not taking the threat seriously — something that was publicly seen when he touched each microphone and recorder in a table in front of him just two days before testing positive. Mitchell said it took him awhile to “cool off” following his positive test.
But, according to Gobert, things will be just fine.
“It’s true that we didn’t speak for a while after this, but we did speak a few days ago,” Gobert said on Instagram Live on Sunday. “And we are both ready to go out and try to win a championship for this team.”
Gobert said relationships on the team are rarely ideal, but that hasn’t stopped the Jazz from winning in the past.
“Everyone’s got different relationships,” Gobert said. “It’s never perfect. People that are married — it’s never perfect. Me and my teammates, it’s far from perfect, but at the end of the day, we both want the same thing: It’s winning. We are both grown men and we both are going to do what it takes to win.”
Gobert also talked about what it was like being the first NBA player to test positive for the novel coronavirus. He had to deal with the social media backlash over his careless attitude while worrying not only about his health but the health of those close to him.
“I was worried … it wasn’t like I didn’t have any symptoms. I was scared because I didn’t really know what it was,” Gobert said.
Gobert, who said he received death threats in the immediate aftermath of his positive test, said it took him getting COVID-19 and seeing the impact it had on his home country of France to see how serious the virus was.
"I was frustrated a little bit, but I just wanted to focus on the most important thing: getting healthy and making sure the people around me are fine and help make a positive."
Gobert wasn't the only one taking things lightly. It wasn’t until he tested positive that the NBA shut down and soon the rest of the nation’s economy soon followed.
“I was getting a lot of stuff coming at me, but at the same time, I was able to save thousands of thousands of lives and protect people from getting this virus,” Gobert said.
Gobert donated $500,000 to help those affected by the pandemic in Utah, Oklahoma, and France.
“It really hit me,” Gobert said. “It’s really time to do as much positive as I can and try to help as much people as I can.”
And that now includes helping ease Jazz fans’ minds on the status of his relationship with Mitchell.
“We’re ready to play together and win a championship together,” he said.
