At age 65, New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry was among the personnel in the NBA with the most concern regarding his travel to the Orlando clean site. After deliberations from the league, it appears Gentry has been cleared to participate in the NBA restart, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Gentry, 65, has been one of the league staff members undergoing further scrutiny before heading into bubble. Houston coach Mike D’Antoni, 69, is among those still awaiting word, although there’s optimism that he’ll be cleared too. Rockets leave for Orlando tomorrow. https://t.co/lZsfVsbR6q
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 8, 2020
The United States Center for Disease Control notes that as you get older, your risk for being hospitalized for COVID-19 increases, and adults aged 65 or over make up the majority of deaths among age groups in America. However, Gentry has maintained his stance that he would like to coach throughout the hiatus, and it appears he is now set to do so, leading a Pelicans team that has a real shot at sneaking in as the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Previously, Pelicans associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik, who is 67 years old, had opted out of coaching at the NBA clean site out of the same type of concern Gentry will face in Orlando. These decisions certainly are everyone’s individually, as they were with players, and we can only hope there is no pressure being put on anyone in the league to venture into the risky environment. The scrutiny regarding Gentry (and Mike D’Antoni) is not going to subside just because he chose to go to Orlando.