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NBA and WNBA Players Film PSAs to Encourage Fans to Reduce Coronavirus Risk

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In an effort to get the word out about health and safety during the coronavirus pandemic, NBA & WNBA players, legends and coaches are filming PSAs from home that share messages of support and tips for reducing risk, staying healthy and practicing social distancing.

More than 20  players and legends have participated in PSAs, generating more than 45 million video views across the league’s Instagram Twitter, Facebook and Tik Tok platforms since the first PSA launched on March 13.

As part of the NBA Together (https://on.nba.com/2Uf8GWE) initiative, every weekday at 9:00 p.m. CAT a member of the NBA family will engage with fans globally, participating in a live interview with NBA broadcast talent or taking questions from fans on Instagram live. Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love tipped off the series on Friday night.

Last Sunday, the Basketball Africa League posted this video message from BAL President, Amadou Gallo Fall: https://twitter.com/theBAL/status/1241777193929388032 (French subtitles)

“As we await the start of our inaugural BAL season, our priority and focus remain the health of our fans, our players, coaches, employees and everyone associated with our game. It is important that we all remain vigilant and take preventive steps as outlined by health officials and infectious disease specialists to limit exposure to the coronavirus, as much as possible, including avoiding large crowds and practicing social distancing, regularly washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, avoiding touching your face, especially your nose, mouth and eyes. I am disappointed we were not able to launch our league as initially planned earlier this month, but I look forward to the launch of the BAL at a future date. We are monitoring the situation closely and we will advise as we have more details. Please continue to stay tuned to @theBAL on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook for the latest news updates. In the meantime, thank you for your continuous support. Stay safe and stay healthy.”

See the links to the video PSAs below and visit https://www.nba.com/, which is now a hub for information and resources:

“We must do all we can right now.”

  • Three international NBA players  – Danilo Gallinari (Oklahoma City Thunder), Rui Hachimura (Washington Wizards) and Ricky Rubio (Phoenix Suns) – came together to share a special message on behalf of the World Health Organization on how to stay healthy and safe: https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1241742603936202756                                          

“Please pay attention to what the health experts are advising, from good healthy habits to social distancing…If you’re passing information to others, make sure it’s correct…Visit the World Health Organization for the most up-to-date information on the coronavirus. Let’s be there for each other and let’s work as one team.” (Transcript in French attached)

 

“I want to encourage everyone to work from home if you can, make sure that we stay isolated, that we listen to our health officials and take care of yourselves.”

 

“The best thing that we all could do right now is try to be as selfless as possible…This is a time where we gotta make sure that we’re all okay and make sure that we’re all listening to our health officials and our communities and make sure that we’re trying to stay home as much as possible.”

Chris also offered advice to the Jr. NBA family on practicing everyday: https://twitter.com/jrnba/status/1241424337413922817

    • “Keep practicing. Never let someone tell you you’re too small.”

 

“Really trying to take this moment to self-quarantine so we can stop the spike of the coronavirus and hopefully flatten the curve so less people get it, so we can expose less people. Please take care of you mental health at this time as well. It’s super, super important.”

 

“Hope everybody is staying safe out there practicing social distancing and hanging at home. Now that League Pass has all the games from this season available to watch, you might want to check out this game where I scored 51 points.”

 

“You know where I got my name (The Glove) from – defense and being in my opponent’s face. But I’m going to be real with you right now. Right now is not the time to be in anybody’s face. That’s right. We all have to do our part in participating in social distancing.”

Discussed his PSA and focus on mental wellness during this stressful time on the TODAY Show last week:

“Now more than ever, we have to practice compassion. We have to be kind. We have to be mindful of our words, our actions and really practice a sense of community.”

 

“Let’s follow all the health guidelines about washing your hands on a regular basis. It is also especially important that we learn what it means to practice social distancing.”

“As best you can, social distance yourself and we can flatten the curve and get rid of this virus as soon as possible. Stop the spread.”

“As we all work to stop the spread of coronavirus, we’re practicing social distancing. Everybody should be doing it…We will miss fans and our teammates and basketball but if we work together, we’re going to be back there soon.”

“I just wanted to tap in and make sure that were all following the important steps that health officials are telling us to follow.”

“Continue to stay active, whether it’s doing pushups, sit-ups or my favorite – just dribbling around the house with a basketball.”

 

“This is all about protecting yourself and the people around you. I wish I would have took this thing more seriously and I hope everyone else will do so because we can do it together.”

“Thank you guys so much for your continued support. It means a lot to me. Things are going well. I’m just taking the proper precautions as was told to me by the health authorities.”

“During this time, we should all be looking out for one another in staying calm and staying safe. By taking steps like washing your hands on a regular, staying out of large crowds. If your coughing or sneezing, covering your mouth.”

“I just want to encourage everybody to continue to be great citizens. Please wash your hands. Use hand sanitizer. Please just protect yourselves and the people around you.”

“Just a reminder to make sure you guys wash your hands, avoid large crowds and if you might be sick, quarantine yourself. This is only a virus that we can beat together. Hopefully we’ll be seeing you guys soon and back on the floor.”

 

“Music is there through the good times & bad! It gets you through anything and right now it’s all I need, love learning new tunes. Anybody know these tunes? Stay home and stay safe everyone!”

 

“Coming from a medical family, I just want to make sure we all take the time to thank the doctors, nurses and first responders who work every day to help us fight this virus…Also, I would like to acknowledge everyone that is out there providing essential services to all of us during this pandemic. We will do our part to help slow down the spread.”

“Staying healthy takes teamwork. Remember to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. And try to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Help stop the spread of germs by making these easy habits part of your daily game plan.”

“I’m here to teach you a new play today – hand washing. You should wash your hands for at least 20 seconds but let’s make it 24. Think of it as a shot clock but this is one time we don’t mind a shot clock violation… Special thanks to all the medical teams and health authorities who are doing so much to help keep us all safe.”

 

              “Guess where I am? At home. And please, if you don’t work for an essential service, that’s where you should be too.”

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