Per The Athletic, the NBA’s anonymous hotline has been active since the players arrived. Part of the plan to keep the NBA Bubble safe was to have an anonymous hotline for reporting any rule-breaking. The idea was to incentivize players to follow the quarantine in Orlando, as there could be consequences if they were seen by someone and reported.
When the NBA first announced this plan, it was mostly material for humor on the internet. Fans jokingly speculated that star players on contending teams would snitch on star players on other contending teams to give them suspensions. For the most part, people didn’t seriously expect this hotline to make headlines again. But, as of yesterday, it has.
Due to the whole “anonymity” aspect, we have no idea who any of the personnel involved were. We have heard about two rule-breaking incidents. Richaun Holmes exited to bubble to pick up a food delivery. Bruno Caboclo also left the Disney campus lines, by accident.
All humor aside, this is an extremely serious situation. All it takes is one player not following the rules to catch and spread the virus throughout the Bubble. If that scenario were to happen, they would likely have to call of the season.
Although that doomsday situation has not happened, the NBA is undoubtedly off to a shaky start. The two aforementioned players admitted to breaking the rules, and the news surrounding the hotline is evidence that even more rule-breaking has occurred. Hopefully, these types of incidents will serve as learning lessons to those involved in Orlando, and they can get their act together.
Opinions
Since the news broke, Twitter has been actively sharing their thoughts and insight on the hotline. Ex-NBA player Kendrick Perkins arguably voiced his opinion the loudest, expressing it via a tweet.
Say what you will about Perkins, but you can’t say he is wrong on this one. The Bubble plan is so fragile; there are hundreds of people involved, yet the actions of one could cause the entire thing to come crashing down.
