Spanish basketball star Pau Gasol is the latest athlete to announce publicly thoughts about skipping the Rio Olympics due to the Zika virus.
“It wouldn’t surprise me to see some athletes deciding not to participate in the Games to avoid putting their health and the health of their families at risk,” Gasol said Monday, according to The Associated Press. “I’m thinking about [whether or not to go]. Just like every athlete, or any other person considering going to Rio, should be thinking about it.”
Gasol, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, held a press conference and wrote a column in Spanish newspaper El Pais titled “Olympic dream or medical nightmare?” on Monday.
“Returning to Spain after eight months in the United States, I am struck by how few people in Europe are talking about the Zika virus and its consequences,” Gasol wrote in the column. “From my conversations with both U.S. and Spanish experts, my conclusion is that Zika is a much bigger and more serious threat than we think.”
