National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced of imposing a fine of 1 per cent on the players who won’t follow the quarantine rules at the Walt Disney World resort.
This news comes after Sacramento Kings’ centre Richaun Holmes and Houston Rockets’ Bruno Caboclo broke the quarantine rules and also tested positive for the coronavirus. Later, Rockets’ star guard Russell Westbrook was also tested positive of the deadly virus. They have all now been asked to self-quarantine for 10 days and also sent for testing.
NBA is taking the measurements strictly and after all these developments, the league officials have been forced to announce the fine on the players for breaching any kind of protocol inside the bubble.
There will be a financial penalty if a player breaks quarantine once the seeding games start on July 30. Each game missed will project to roughly 1% of salary. The Richaun Holmes situation would have cost him close to $50K for every game missed.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 13, 2020
As per Bobby Marks of ESPN, NBA will start implementing the rule once the league starts from July 30 onwards. Marks also said that Richaun Holmes could have been fined $50K for every game after he crossed the boundary of the bubble to pick the food.
Earlier, NBA commissioner Adam Silver had also warned that a significant rise in the number of cases could again lead to the season suspension at the Walt Disney World resort.
In case a player is tested a few days prior to the season restart, he could potentially miss all the remaining matches because the new schedule released by the NBA is fast-paced, with games taking place in a short span.
This will also determine how seriously the players take rules and regulations framed by the league. The NBA season will restart with the first match between Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers.
