Knicks great Patrick Ewing hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19
Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing, here against St. John's on March 11, 2020, at the Big East Tournament at the Garden, did not offer any details about his illness in his statement Friday, May 22, 2020. Credit: Getty Images/Sarah Stier
Knicks Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, now the coach of the Georgetown University men’s basketball team, disclosed Friday evening that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
Ewing issued a statement, electing to share his diagnosis publicly to emphasize that the virus can affect anyone. According to Georgetown University, Ewing is under care and isolated at a local hospital.
“I want to share that I have tested positive for COVID-19,” Ewing said in the statement. “This virus is serious and should not be taken lightly. I want to encourage everyone to stay safe and take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Now more than ever, I want to thank health-care workers and everyone on the front lines. I’ll be fine and we will all get through this.”
According to the statement, Ewing is the only member of the Georgetown men’s basketball program to have tested positive for the virus.
Ewing is hardly the first athlete to test positive. The sports landscape shifted when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive on March 11, leading the NBA to suspend the season, a tack that was followed quickly by all other professional sports. But the virus presents a greater risk for Ewing, 57, than the active players who tested positive.
Though a handful of players have been revealed to have tested positive and some came forward, including Gobert, Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Durant, some of the other positive tests have been revealed only as part of affected staff or players, rather than naming them.
Ewing played 15 seasons for the Knicks before being traded after the 1999-2000 season, finishing up his career two seasons later. He was named All-NBA seven times and was an 11-time All-Star.
He served as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Charlotte Bobcats before getting a chance at a head-coaching job at his alma mater, where he has guided the Hoyas for the past three seasons.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
