How Coronavirus Affects Indiana Basketball Star’s Career

The world is currently watching in horror and anticipation as the vicious Coronavirus keeps spreading from country to country, affecting thousands in its wake. There is no telling how this global crisis will pan out in the months to come, but every country around the globe is on high alert right now, and people are worried. The sudden spread of the virus was unexpected, and that led to the rapid spread to different countries. Yet, despite the widespread panic, someone people’s lives are extremely affected by the virus, even if they were not infected, like basketball star Amber Harris.

Indianapolis born

Amber Harris was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1988. She joined the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2011. She was selected in the first round of the WNBA draft that year, joining the Minnesota Lynx. Despite being benched most of her time there, Harris managed to perform whenever she got the chance –– averaging 3.3 points per game –– and this was the start of her career as a professional basketball player. Her career in the WNBA took her eventually to the Chicago Sky, which were the last team, she joined in the league before making her way to China.

Wuhan Shengfan

Over the course of the past two years, Harris has been a member of the Wuhan Shengfan –– a women’s basketball team in the cradle of the Coronavirus, Wuhan China. While having your career halted because of an epidemic outbreak is quite concerning, for children that want to learn how to play basketball, there is always a way. You never know what the future has in store for you, so you need to take the risk anyway. You can do that by setting up a basketball court somewhere for your kids so they could learn and grow, and whatever comes after that is out of your control.

As for Harris, she got lucky. She managed to get out before the virus outbreak. Harris was visiting Indianapolis, staying with her family for the team’s one-month break, which coincided with the beginning of the Coronavirus madness. She was quite fortunate to make it out in time, because a few weeks later, the entire city was closed off, and it wouldn’t have been possible for her to make it out of Wuhan had she been there when the epidemic started spreading.

Her basketball career

Despite being lucky enough to survive the Coronavirus outbreak, her career wasn’t as fortunate as it is currently on hold until this crisis can be resolved. In recent statements to Eyewitness News, Harris expressed how much she misses her team as well as playing. Being the only American in the Wuhan Shengfan wasn’t easy at first, but she soon started feeling like home and formed a bond with her teammates. It was also how she got to practice the sport she loves at this point in her career. Harris started texting her teammates in Wuhan, asking how things were at the epicenter of the crisis. Much to her glee, her teammates were fine, and they too had been transferred out of the city.

Sadly, the rest of the basketball season in the city has been canceled, and there is no telling when it will resume or when it could be safe for her to go back. For now, Harris’s career is on hold, and she has no option but to practice and hope for the best.

What does the future hold?

That is a question that no one could answer, whether that is on Amber Harris’s career or the virus spreading across the world right now. Harris says she is getting paid and things are currently stable for her right now as she stays with her mother until the crisis resolves. The former Xavier star had some golden years in college, before going on to win two titles with the Minnesota Lynx and playing with several other teams. She had hoped to conclude her career in China, but there is no telling if that is an option right now. In any case, Amber Harris is staying in shape, despite the embargo on her basketball career, and is hopeful that she could soon go back to doing what she loves and is good at.

 

Coronavirus has taken the world by storm, and each capable nation is taking measures to try and contain the virus, as well as find a cure. As of now, there are over 70,000 documented cases of Coronavirus patients, with the death toll going well over a thousand. We can only hope that the world will soon find a cure to the worst epidemic outbreak we have seen in years.