Timberwolves Staffer Writes Dismissive Message About Covid-19 on ‘Thank You’ Sign to Center Rudy Gobert

Ahmad Austin Jr.Jan 3rd, 2024, 10:59 am
 
Rudy Gobert

Adam Hunger/AP

Target Arena staffers sent Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert a sign thanking him for their Christmas gifts, and one of them responded with a dismissive joke about COVID-19.

Days before Christmas, it was reported that Gobert sent arena workers personally signed cards with $50 gift cards. He did the same the previous Christmas.

On Tuesday, the Timberwolves Twitter account posted Gobert holding up the sign he received from the workers. The sign read “Thank you, Rudy! From Everyone At Target Center,” and included signatures from the staff.

Right under the Gobert’s name, one of the staffers wrote “Covid Schmovid.”

Back in 2020, Gobert — then a member of the Utah Jazz — dismissed the severity of Covid-19. As a sort of act of rebellion, Gobert ended a press conference by deliberately touching all of the microphones around him. Shortly after, the NBA was temporarily shut down due to the pandemic.

Since then, Gobert has been labeled the one who “started Covid” in the NBA. While that can’t be confirmed, it’s something that’s stuck with him. The message the staffer wrote was likely written to show Gobert that’s not what they think of him.

With the center now being a member of the Timberwolves, however, the message can be viewed as tone-deaf. While the NBA was shut down, Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns lost eight family members to the disease — including his mother. Towns himself was even hospitalized for it.

While the staffer’s intentions were good, mocking a disease that ruined the life of Gobert’s teammate just feels inappropriate.

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