Kevin Durant Tweeted ‘Free Me’ After Being Pulled Mid-Game For Health And Safety Protocols

It’s a been a roller-coaster of a night for Kevin Durant. Prior to tip-off against the Raptors on Friday, a report from ESPN indicated that Durant would not be in the starting lineup, as part of the league’s health and safety protocols related to COVID. Durant had reportedly been in contact with an individual who may have been exposed to the virus and had returned an inconclusive test.

But just a few minutes into the opening quarter, Durant emerged from the locker room and entered the game. The details about the contact tracing in connection to Durant were unclear, but every indication was that he had been cleared to re-enter the game. However, Durant later left the game in the second half in connection to the same situation.

ESPN’s Malika Andrews offered some clarity after Durant exited the game, explaining that although Durant had tested negative on three occasions over the last 24 hours, the individual with whom he had been in contact had subsequently tested positive, meaning Durant would once again being under contact-tracing protocols.

Naturally, there was some frustration on Durant’s part, which led to this tweet after he returned to the locker room.

And Durant wasn’t done expressing his thoughts on the matter, appearing to criticize the league for what he perceives as a focus on appearances and perceptions rather than a meaningful response to the situation.

Nonetheless, the Nets will continue to proceed with caution, and according to Adrian Wojnarowski, it appears doubtful that Durant will travel to Philadelphia for a game against the Sixers this weekend.

It’s certainly been a strange night for Durant and the Nets, who ended up falling to the Raptors, 123-117. It marked the first time in Durant’s career that he both didn’t start the game and scored under double-digits, although the circumstances clearly put an asterisk by those stats.

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