Patrick Ewing announced on Friday that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
The Hall of Fame basketball player and current head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas men’s basketball team wrote on Twitter, “I want to share that I have tested positive for COVID-19. 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 the healthcare workers and everyone on the front lines. I’ll be fine and we will all get through this.”
A statement from Georgetown athletics was included in the tweet, and said that Ewing “is under care and isolated at a local hospital.”
Ewing, 57, has been the head coach at Georgetown since 2017, after starring as a player for the Hoyas in the ’80s (1984 national champion, 1984 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, 1985 National Player of the Year, and three-time All-American).
The seven-footer was drafted by the New York Knicks with the No. 1 overall pick of the 1985 NBA Draft, and went on to be an 11-time All-Star with the Knicks. He averaged 21.0 points and 9.8 rebounds over his 17-year NBA career, and was a member of the USA “Dream Team” in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
UPDATE: Patrick Ewing Jr. tweeted on Monday that his dad has been released from the hospital and is “getting better.”
https://twitter.com/pewingjr6/status/1264957387145916423
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.