The coronavirus pandemic has claimed the mother of NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team announced Monday.
"The Towns family is heartbroken by the untimely passing of Jacqueline Towns due to complications as a result of COVID-19," a statement said. "Jackie, as she was affectionately known among family and friends, had been battling the virus for more than a month when she succumbed on April 13th."
Towns revealed in late March that his mother was struggling with the virus in an emotional video he posted on social media in which he implored his fans and followers to take the virus seriously. Towns said both of his parents came down with the virus and were hospitalized, but his father recovered while his mother was in a medically induced coma and put on a ventilator.
"She just wasn't getting better," Towns said in the March video. "Her fever was never cutting from 103, maybe go down to 101.9 with the meds, and then immediately spike back up during the night. She was very uncomfortable. Her lungs were getting worse, her cough was getting worse. She was deteriorating."
"Jackie was many things to many people - a wife, mother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt, and friend," the statement said. "The matriarch of the Towns family, she was an incredible source of strength; a fiery, caring, and extremely loving person, who touched everyone she met. Her passion was palpable and her energy will never be replaced."
The coronavirus has touched all sectors of US society, with sports arguably at the forefront. The NBA season has been suspended since March 11, when a Utah Jazz player tested positive. Several other players and coaches have since tested positive, including in other leagues. Late on Sunday, the New York Post announced a 48-year-old veteran sports photographer had died from the virus.