Yahoo Finance Ezekiel Elliott upset about COVID-19 diagnosis going public
Shortly after news broke that members of the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans tested positive for COVID-19, Ezekiel Elliott’s agent confirmed that he had contracted the coronavirus.
Elliott is upset about that news going public.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport broke both pieces of news Monday morning, first reporting that players had tested positive without identifying anybody.
Several #Cowboys players & several #Texans players have tested positive for COVID-19 recently, sources tell me & @TomPelissero. None of the players are believed to have been in their team facilities. The teams followed proper health protocols.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 15, 2020
Elliott’s agent confirmed his diagnosis
Around 30 minutes later, Rapoport reported that Elliott’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, confirmed to him that Elliott had tested positive and that he “is feeling good.”
#Cowboys star RB Ezekiel Elliott is one of the players who has tested positive for the Coronavirus, his agent Rocky Arceneaux confirmed to me. Arceneaux said Elliott is feeling good.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 15, 2020
The Cowboys declined to comment, citing privacy laws. But Elliott’s own camp was the first to publicly acknowledge that he tested positive, so Rapoport reported it.
Then the Cowboys posted a story on their website about Elliott having COVID-19, citing Rapoport’s report.
Elliott then sent out this tweet.
HIPAA ??
— Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) June 15, 2020
Elliott is referring to the privacy law that the Cowboys appeared to cite to initially deny comment. HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a federal law that prevents health care professionals from revealing sensitive patient information publicly without the patient’s consent or knowledge.
Elliott appears to have an issue with the media in this case reporting the news, which is not a HIPAA violation.
My agent only confirmed. The story was already written. Reporters had been called my agent all morning.
— Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) June 15, 2020
My agent didn’t break the story to the media
— Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) June 15, 2020
Again, it was Arceneaux who made Elliott’s diagnosis public. The story did not go public until Elliott’s representative told a reporter that he had contracted the coronavirus.
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