WNBA player chooses to find silver lining amidst COVID-19 pandemic

Sydney Wiese was playing professional basketball in Spain from October to March when she thinks she may have contracted the coronavirus. The LA Sparks released a statement confirming her positive COVID-19 test on March 27 and she has been in self-quarantine since her return stateside.

“Because I did test positive (when I came back to the United States), it’s possible that I exposed it to (my teammates) or they were exposed at some point, just like I was. It’s difficult to know for sure,” Wiese said in an email interview with the Stevens County Times.

Much of her life revolves around basketball since being drafted in 2017 by the LA Sparks. Although Wiese wouldn’t wish illness upon anyone, she does admit that being under self-quarantine has been “good in many ways.”

“To me, the silver lining in all of this is the gift of stillness,” Wiese said. “Our country is so fast paced, busy and distracted. We are fortunate to live in a place full of opportunity, experiences, and constant activity. For some of us, these weeks have been slow. Our distractions have been taken away from us. Our schedules have been uprooted. Our plans, destroyed.”

Read the full story in the April 14 Stevens County Times.