Dodger Turner’s disregard for COVID courtesy amounts to foul play

To the dismay of myself and other San Francisco Giants fans, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series Wednesday night. To the dismay of myself, other healthcare professionals, and the community at large, Justin Turner, the Dodgers’ starting third baseman, acted with shortsightedness after learning that he tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the start of the eighth inning of Game 6 that night.

Following the winning play of the World Series, Turner left self-isolation to take team photos — without wearing a mask — with his teammates and to kiss his wife.

Given that this is the biggest day in Turner’s baseball career and quite a victorious moment for the Dodgers organization, it is understandable that he desired to celebrate the momentous win with his teammates and to share his joy with those he loves. It is quite reckless, however, to leave self-isolation following a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 to potentially expose the entire Dodgers organization and their families to the illness that has turned 2020 upside down.

We as humans want to be around those we care about despite barriers and limitations presented to us by the current COVID-19 pandemic. We must, however, align our behaviors with healthcare professionals’ recommendations in order to best navigate through the duration of this godforsaken pandemic.

As a star player for the best team in baseball, Turner needs to realize that he sets an example with his behavior throughout the sports world and beyond. By disregarding consideration for the state of the pandemic, Turner acted outright selfishly, not only taking his mask off for the photo opp, but also sitting next to his team manager, Dave Roberts, who is a cancer survivor and at high risk if exposed to the virus.

I commend the Dodgers’ decision to pull Turner from Game 6, especially given that it was the game that eventually clinched the Dodgers’ World Series title. Those efforts, however, were pretty much entirely compromised by what happened after the victory.

One could argue that multiple Dodgers teammates have voiced that they wanted Turner to celebrate with them despite his diagnosis and were willing to risk having him in close proximity without a mask. Given the influence that athletes and athletic organizations hold within the media, fans, and the community at large, however, maturity and foresight to not allow such actions should have been better utilized to prevent this situation from occurring.

As with every other exposure to someone infected with COVID-19, the worry does not stop immediately with those who had direct contact, which in this case include the Dodgers organization and Turner’s wife. It extends to all their future immediate contacts as well. Some of these contacts may be other Dodgers employees, friends, or even family members who will be subsequently at risk for getting sick, and undoubtedly some are at high risk.

The frustration is not limited to just Turner. It is also directed at the entire Dodgers organization and all of Major League Baseball for allowing him on the field and in the team photographs. These organizations should have devised and instituted safer plans of action handling a player testing positive for coronavirus mid-game.

Major League Baseball has announced an investigation into Turners’ disregard for coronavirus protocols. As with many other incidents surrounding this pandemic, however, this investigation will be too little, too late.

The irresponsible sequence of events immediately following the Dodgers’ World Series victory calls into question the leadership and execution of safe protocols by sports organizations. Sadly, Turner, the Dodgers, and Major League Baseball all struck out.