Hurricanes announcer in self-isolation after staying in Rudy Gobert’s room
Two employees of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes were isolated after the team stayed in a Detroit hotel that was previously occupied by the Utah Jazz and in rooms that the Centers for Disease Control identified for possible exposure to the coronavirus.
The Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer reported that play-by-play announcer John Forslund, who also calls nationally televised games, has self-quarantined in his home in North Carolina after being told he had stayed in the same room as Rudy Gobert, the first NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus. Hurricanes videographer Zach Brame also stayed in a room previously occupied by a member of the Jazz’s traveling group and was isolated.
“It’s serious,” Forslund told the News & Observer Friday. “We’ve got to listen to what we’re supposed to do. And act accordingly. You know me. I can be as sarcastic as anybody. Initially, we were all kind of in the same boat. And now look where we are. It’s a serious thing. You just hope and pray everybody’s going to be OK. What I’m going through is no big deal, because there are people who are going to have complications.”
The 2020 Masters tournament was postponed Friday amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
Hurricanes president Don Waddell said the chance of transmitting the virus through the hotel room was low but the team was advised that Forslund and Brame should self-quarantine for two weeks when the team returned home. The Jazz had stayed at the hotel, the Detroit Westin Book Cadillac, before their game against the Detroit Pistons and had checked out a day before the Hurricanes traveling party checked in.
Forslund also said he has not been tested for the virus and is waiting to see if he develops symptoms. “I can’t get tested, that’s the thing,” said Forslund, who has been staying in the basement of his home. “I’m like everybody else. That’s the problem right now, as a country.”
Elsewhere, concerns about the coronavirus pandemic led USA Bobsled/Skeleton to announce on Friday it had canceled its national championships “in an abundance of caution.” USA Luge canceled all its programs at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, N.Y., for the remainder of the season, which was supposed to end in early April.
Also, the world race walking team championships were canceled. They were to be held in Minsk, Belarus, on May 2-3.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
