New York Mets Pitcher Chris Bassitt: ‘Ridiculous’ We Still Have to Test for Coronavirus

New York Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt has said “it’s ridiculous” that professional athletes like himself are still testing for the coronavirus.

The pitcher lamented about the current testing regiment when speaking to reporters on Thursday after he missed playing last after he tested positive for the coronavirus.

“It’s ridiculous we’re still doing it,” Bassitt told reporters.

🎥 Chris Bassitt goes on a rant about COVID protocols after spending time on COVID IL list https://t.co/CCkkn1fm2d pic.twitter.com/PyXnITL3O5

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) July 7, 2022

When asked about a solution to the ongoing problem, Bassitt said the time has come to “stop testing.”

“Stop acting like COVID is far worse than a lot of other things,” he said. “I mean, not trying to get too much into it, but I was never sick. Never had a symptom. So, sitting out for two weeks or possibly a week for zero symptoms. I don’t know.”

Major League Baseball (MLB) ended its robust testing regiment in March of this year and reserved it only for athletes who experience symptoms. Bassitt said that he decided to test after feeling sluggish following a game in Texas last Friday.

“If I can somewhat be safe I will. I tested myself. It was positive. So I basically had the choice to tell them so I can protect my teammates or not say anything and (put) my teammates at risk. I never had a symptom. I woke up perfectly fine the next day. Have not had a symptom since,” he said.

Bassitt outright admitted that he may not reveal his feeling of symptoms again.

“And now they’re coming out and saying we possibly could get tested, I mean we could possibly come up positive multiple times in, like, say a month,” Bassitt said. “So, we gotta miss multiple times. … I guess the answer is I should never have said anything.”

“I should never have said I tested positive,” he added. “And I probably won’t the rest of my career. There’s no way. There’s no reason.”