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The Golden State Warriors reportedly dealt with a team-wide meningitis scare during March of last season, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
“An outside vendor who handled the team’s food on a daily basis contracted a contagious form of the disease, then survived a life-threatening challenge before eventually returning to work with the team,” Amick explained.
Players and other team personnel took vaccination shots in response to the threat, while the practice facility and dining room were both shut down for a stretch to be cleaned.
Doctors were reportedly brought in to address the team, while general manager Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr tried to limit the concerns.
“Of course in the beginning, everyone was freaked out,” former Warriors and current Detroit Pistons center Zaza Pachulia said. “But after hearing from professionals, (when) doctors talked to us and the team did all the necessary (things), they responded really well, and right away.”
The concern reportedly peaked between games on March 11 and 14, which coincided with the team’s toughest stretch on the court last season. From March 9-29, the Warriors lost seven of 10 games in an eventual 58-24 season.
Golden State went on to win the NBA title for the third time in four years.
However, it was clear many of the players were impacted mentally by the health scare toward the end of the regular season.
“It was the entire team (who was affected). It was crazy,” former Warriors forward David West said. “It was the heart of the season. It was something that, again, it showed the strength of the organization (that they got through it to win the title).”
