As NBA play prepares to commence in the Disney bubble in Orlando on July 30, the Orlando Magic has reportedly had to lay off 31 employees because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Orlando Magic writer John Denton reported on Saturday morning that the NBA team was forced to lay off a large portion of their staff yesterday because of cutbacks due to COVID-19 and that he was sadly one of the employees included in that layoff wave as well. Denton had been a writer for the franchise for 10 years.
Meanwhile, in the wake of these internal layoffs, the Orlando Magic are one of the teams who will be participating in the bubble play at Disney as the NBA prepares to restart its season. However, the NBA's doctors on staff still have concerns about the lasting effects that renewed play amid a pandemic might have on the players.
"There are unknown effects it has on lung capacity, unknown effects it has on cardiac health," an anonymous GM told ESPN last Saturday. "What if a 24-year-old catches it in Orlando and, in 14 days, he quarantines and is fine, but then he has these everlasting heart problems? [Or he] gets winded so easily, or he becomes a little bit too susceptible to fatigue? ... These are all the unknowns."
With several NBA players already testing positive for COVID-19 and case numbers surging in Florida as well, players and staff still appear to be at risk even being in the bubble.
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