Washington Wizards’ star Bradley Beal has been ruled out for the team’s Saturday night game against the Miami Heat, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Wizards star Bradley Beal is out for tonight vs. Miami due to health and safety protocols and contact tracing exposure to Jayson Tatum, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 9, 2021
On Friday, the Wizards lost to the Boston Celtics 107-116.
After the game, it was announced that Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum was expected to enter quarantine and miss 10-14 days due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Since then, the Celtics have added three players – Jaylen Brown, Semi Ojeleye, and Javonte Green – to their injury report for health and safety protocols.
But Tatum was in contact with many more players than just Brown, Ojeleye, and Green.
Tatum could be seen talking to Beal, a close friend from St. Louis, after the game.
Shams says that Beal’s postgame interaction with Tatum is why he’s listed out for Saturday’s game.
Many people are wondering why Beal’s short conversation with Tatum after the game constitutes “more exposure” than playing more than 30 minutes of basketball in extremely close proximity.
The NBA has found itself at a crossroads with COVID-19 player cases piling up.
It seems clear that if the intent is to keep players safe, the current plan isn’t working.