By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
The 18-year NBA veteran Pau Gasol has written a piece for the Players Tribune about the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and how it affects the whole world. He started simply with a few words of solidarity and good wishes: “It feels like we’ve lived a year in the last three weeks. From one person in isolation to another, I hope you and your loved ones are getting through this crisis as well as can be.”
The Spaniard reflected on the isolation and what it means for different groups of people: “The hope, and my belief, is that our isolation will slow the spread of the virus. And in this strange new reality, those of us in this last group are the relatively fortunate ones. If we’re lucky, we’re spending this time with family. But for so many people, it doesn’t feel like a lucky time. Jobs have been lost. Businesses have been closed. Schools have been shut down. Hospitals are being overwhelmed and medical equipment is in short supply. Uncertainty is hanging over everything. Will my loved ones be infected? When will there be a vaccine? When will life go back to “normal” — and what will “normal” even look like? The toll on our mental and physical health may grow bigger than we can imagine.”
However, although aware of the danger, he noted that “for many of us, being isolated makes it harder to understand what’s really happening in places hard-hit by the virus.”
“You may follow the news, but depending on where you live, what you see outside your window might not match what you see on TV. We know there’s a raging fire — but on our street, or in our community, there might not be any smoke. The outbreak can feel like it’s happening somewhere else,” he added.
He spoke about the outbreak in Spain and the US, risks, hopes, solidarity, heroes but decided to finish the piece with a lesson from Kobe Bryant, a lesson which will be crucial in times like this.
“It makes me think about something I learned from a former teammate. The way he responded to setbacks was one of the most remarkable things I’ve seen in my life. He viewed adversity as a great teacher and an opportunity to grow.
That teammate was Kobe Bryant. I’m really missing Kobe these days, and the things he taught me are louder than ever in my mind, and in my heart.
We need this mentality right now. We may not be in control of very much, but we still have choices. The way we respond to the pandemic, and its aftermath, will define this moment in our history. Will we come out of this grateful and united — or resentful and divided?
It’s up to us.”
Click here to read the full piece by Pau Gasol on Players Tribune