Regardless of whether you think it was an appropriate decision, it was bizarre that Justin Turner was pulled from a game due to a positive COVID-19 test, only to return for the celebration.
Turner was yanked in the middle of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series-clinching Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. After a test the day earlier came back inconclusive, his expedited test Tuesday returned positive, which is why he got pulled.
But there Turner was, grinning ear to ear without his mask as the team took its celebratory photo on the field. He was then walking around the field, kissing his wife and shaking hands with teammates, all while knowingly carrying the virus.
So the question is: How did he get back on the field in the first place? Well, for one, it appears he was insistent that he got to celebrate. And it sounds like he had the backing of an unnamed Dodgers official, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
“We’re going to get him a picture, then get him off (the field),” the Dodgers official told Rosenthal. “We can’t deny him that. The guy is the heart and soul of the organization.”
OK, sure.
Of course, maybe that wouldn’t ring as hollow now had Turner (or the Dodgers) followed through on that request.
But alas.
