New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton has tested positive for the new coronavirus, becoming the first person from the National Football League known to have contracted the disease.
Payton said he is feeling tired but resting at home after going into self-quarantine.
“I was fortunate to be in the minority, without the serious side effects that some have. I’m lucky,” Payton said on Thursday.
Payton said he began feeling unwell on Sunday and got tested the next day. It took three days for the results to come back positive.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said it comes as no shock that cases of the disease are turning up in their league.
“Our primary concern is for Sean’s health and well-being,” Goodell said. “He did the right thing by seeking medical attention and we wish him a speedy recovery.
“It shouldn’t come as a surprise as this pandemic continues that members of our NFL family will be directly impacted.”
About 80 percent of those with the disease develop a fever and cough, but Payton said so far he has not shown any signs of those symptoms.
Payton said he hopes younger people would listen to expert advice and stay indoors.
“Younger people feel like they can handle this, but they can be a carrier to someone who can’t handle it,” Payton said. “So we all need to do our part. It’s important for every one of us to do our part.
Schefter reports Payton made his test results known to warn all people to listen to government officials, to stay inside and behave responsibly.
Payton, 56, is set to enter his 14th season as the Saints’ head coach.
The NBA, NHL, and MLB have all shut down amid the pandemic. The NFL, however, has continued with free agency, which officially started Wednesday. Players aren’t allowed in team facilities, though.
Just Payton talked about the pandemic talked with Britney Eurton of TVG Network on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
“Like everyone else around the country, and around the world, we’re all making the necessary changes and really prioritizing what’s important,” he said on Saturday.
“The thing that’s lost in it all is for us that are younger, we could become infected and carriers. The way you must feel like an older person that’s something you’d never want – neither of my parents is alive – to have that fear of being in that age group affected the most is certainly frightening.”
