Basketball analyst and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said during a live broadcast Thursday that he was self-quarantining while awaiting the results of a coronavirus test.
Barkley made the announcement after calling in to his longtime program “NBA on TNT.”
“I spent the earlier part of the week in NYC. When I got to Atlanta yesterday, I wasn’t feeling well,” Barkley, 57, told his co-hosts by phone. “I talked to a couple people at Turner and a couple of doctors, and they told me to self-quarantine for the next 48 hours.”
“I haven’t been feeling great and they didn’t want me taking any chances. I went and took the coronavirus test late this afternoon,” he said. “I haven’t got the results back yet.”
The announcement came a day after the NBA announced it was suspending its regular season after two Utah Jazz players, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, were diagnosed with coronavirus.
Almost all major sports leagues in the U.S. have suspended play, and the NCAA canceled its March Madness basketball tournament.
March Madness was set to be broadcast by CBS and Turner Sports over four channels: CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV.
Before the NCAA canceled this year’s tournament, Barkley said it would be a “travesty” if fans were banned from attending the games due to coronavirus fears.
“It would be really unfortunate,” he said Tuesday on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” on CBS. “Like I say, ‘If you feel bad, don’t come.’ But it’s such a great event.”
Two days later, he said March Madness should be postponed.
“I think March Madness should be suspended,” Barkley said. “Let’s got the players tested because clearly it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”