VGK’s Robin Lehner On COVID-19 Era: ‘You’ve Got To Have Something To Look Forward To’
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Players across sports and leagues have voiced various thoughts on playing during a COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of nearly 137,000 Americans.
Some players like Washington Nationals’ first baseman Ryan Zimmerman have opted out.
But Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner said he’s all in and supports the games going on during the novel coronavirus. Lehner’s team is among 24 NHL clubs in the Stanley Cup tournament that begins Aug. 1 in the bubble hub cities of Edmonton for the Western Conference teams and Toronto for the East teams.
Lehner, who has been open and public about his mental health issues, said during a media press session Wednesday that sports leagues holding games is important because it’s tough on mental health if you do’t have anything to look forward to. Here’s Lehner discussing the topic:
Las Vegas hockey writer Danny Webster posted this on Twitter on Lehner’s comments:
Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb said he is not concerned about playing during the COVID-19 era.
“We’re in good hands,” McNabb said in a zoom session following practice at City National Arena in Downtown Summerlin Wednesday.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is WNBA superstar Elena Delle-Donne, who suffers from Lyme disease and was denied a health exemption by the WNBA’s panel of doctors.
She penned an online commentary for The Players Tribune on the fact she takes 64 pills a day to deal with Lyme disease. Here’s an excerpt about the WNBA denying her the health exemption:
“A few days later, the league’s panel of doctors — without ever once speaking to me or to either of my doctors — informed me that they were denying my request for a health exemption.
“I’m now left with two choices: I can either risk my life….. or forfeit my paycheck.
“Honestly? That hurts.
“It hurts a lot. And maybe being hurt just makes me naive. And I know that, as athletes, we’re not really supposed to talk about our feelings. But feelings are pretty much all I have left right now. I don’t have NBA player money. I don’t have the desire to go to war with the league on this. And I can’t appeal.”
You can read her Players Tribune story here.
Delle Donne’s Washington team knocked out the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals last season en route to the Mystics winning the WNBA title.
Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said the team’s medical staff has done a good job educating VGK players on the coronavirus and how to deal with playing in a bubble.
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