NBA icon Charles Barkley, who announced 10 days ago that he was being tested for the coronavirus after falling ill, does not have COVID-19, he said Monday.
“I’ve received my COVID-19 test results this morning and they are negative,” he said in a statement released by Turner Sports. “I’d like to thank everyone for reaching out and expressing your concern and support. You all be safe and please take the necessary actions to help ensure your well-being.”
The colorful NBA analyst had called into his show on TNT on March 12 to say he wasn’t feeling well and was self-isolating and being tested for the coronavirus.
“I’m just kind of in limbo right now. I’m hoping, I’m really hoping, it was just a bug,” he told the crew on “Inside the NBA.”
“I was in New York earlier this week, and that was a hot spot. When I got to Atlanta, I just wasn’t feeling well. I took the test, I haven’t gotten the results back yet, and that’s where I’m at now.”
Barkley’s announcement came one day after the NBA suspended play following Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert‘s positive test.
Before the New York trip, Barkley, 57, was with the Los Angeles Angels on March 2 in Mesa, Arizona, for a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs.
Angels manager Joe Maddon said last week that no Angels players or coaches had exhibited coronavirus symptoms after Barkley’s visit.
Angels general manager Billy Eppler told ESPN March 13 that the team was monitoring Barkley’s test and awaiting instructions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.