Paste BN Sports' Mark Medina discusses NBA's restart in Disney's bubble
The NBA is getting ready to resume its season after a four-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There will be 22 teams competing in a bubble at Walt Disney World's Wide World of Sports Complex, beginning July 30. Players, coaches, staffers and media members will be under the watchful eye of the league, which has installed safety protocols to ensure the safety of all.
Paste BN Sports NBA reporter Mark Medina is among those media members inside the bubble, and he answered questions about the league's restart and how he's dealing with life under quarantine during a Reddit AMA on Tuesday, July 14.
Below is a condensed and edited Q&A.
Q: What is your favorite and least favorite thing about life in the bubble?
Mark Medina: Favorite — I'm documenting history of such an unprecedented situation.
Least favorite — I'm stuck in my room! haha.
Q: Can you exercise somewhere or go for a walk? Or can you truly not be outside your room for the week?
MM: I can't leave the room. But I do 15 rounds of jumping jacks, squats, pushups and situps a day. Supplements. Lots of water. I'm good.
Q: What are you allowed to do? Are you allowed to interview the players, or do you have to remain 6 feet away? Do you have the same restrictions as the players do?
MM: I have to stay in quarantine through at least next Monday (July 20). I will be out of it assuming my daily COVID-19 tests come back negative (so far, so good). So all I can do is hop on Zoom calls. Once I'm out of quarantine, I can start going to practices. I'm not sure how much I will actually see at practice. In normal times, they only keep a few minutes of that open. But I will have a much better feel of things than being stuck in my room. With that being said, we have to wear face coverings and observe social distancing rules. So the interactions will still be limited.
Q: What are you doing to keep busy/sane? That sounds like it could get a bit maddening?
MM: I've brought a good chunk of movies/books and Facetimes with friends. But the NBA life has kept me busy enough.
Q: Do you expect players will be more open with reporters given the bubble format, or will (they) choose to break their own news via social media?
MM: I think players have increasingly chosen to use social media to break news, shape their narrative and promote their brand. The interactions with players/coaches is more robotic through Zoom than in person. That's inevitable. Nonetheless, most people of all walks of life have become increasingly kind and considerate because we've all learned to cherish the small moments during these tough times.
Q: What are some of the other unusual/quirky activities that are gaining popularity to help keep players busy?
MM: Golfing, hanging out by the pool. But most guys have simply been playing video games.
Q: With Disney employees reportedly allowed to go in and out of the Bubble, how confident (are) you the NBA has control on ensuring no players or team staff get infected?
MM: I'm pretty confident. I talked to some Disney union officials, who detailed the employees will be trained to do their job when NBA teams aren't around. Here are more details on that.
Q: Were players instructed to not leave their room or even open their door for any reason?
MM: Teams have been out of quarantine. But they've been told not to leave campus. There are restaurants/take out spots on site.
Q: If media members violate the Bubble restrictions, do they, too, have to be quarantined for 10 days? Or are they just sent home?
MM: My understanding is we would have our credential removed and have to leave.
Q: Is there any precautions taken for players to avoid tampering?
MM: Do you mean teams avoiding tampering? I would think with all teams congregated at once, it's inevitable tampering will take place. But it will be hard to prove since execs are savvy enough to know not to text these kind of things. So it would have to be through socially distance conversations six feet away :)
Q: What do you think the league would do to add more hype to the games since there are no fans?
MM: That's a good question, and something I'm asking questions on. I don't think there should be artificial crowd noise. It should be all about having interesting camera angles and any behind-the-scenes access while following social distancing rules.
Q: Do u have confidence in these teams to follow safety guidelines when two, that we know about, have broken them and how much rule-breakings can be handled until they recognize the problem?
MM: I do have confidence. I think the NBA showed it's taking these things seriously, and players will not (break) the rules now. Here's my column on the situation.
Q: What would you say the chances are that this does become widely regarded as an "asterisk" championship?
MM: I think it's too early to think these issues mean something long term. NBA anticipated some of these events happening, and structured its schedule accordingly. I explain more in this piece.