Verrill lamented that the news media focused on the frozen sperm portion of her 1500-world article.
Advertisement
Bogut, one of Australia’s best basketballers and now competing in the NBA Finals for the Golden State Warriors, told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) that he would be travelling to Rio despite the risk, but said officials needed to be more honest with athletes not willing to risk their health, reports Xinhua.
“This was a huge factor in us choosing to stay put”, Verrill said.
The sexually transmissible virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly in babies. “We’d love to have more children and with research in its infancy, I wouldn’t want to put myself in a situation which could have been prevented”, she writes.
Last month, a host of prominent doctors and professors penned an open letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) calling for the Games to be moved or postponed “in the name of public health”.
But concerns remain among athletes, with golfers Vijay Singh and Marc Leishman among those staying away, and Rutherford is taking the threat seriously.
We’re not advocating that couples anxious about Zika freeze eggs, sperm, or embryos, but this notion feels like a small amount of progress.
Organisers continue to play down the risk Zika poses to the 500,000 people expected to attend the global event.
NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie just announced this week that she is pregnant and will also be sitting out this year’s Games.
News emerged earlier in the week that some journalists are refusing to cover the 2016 Summer Olympics over fears that they might contract Zika, a mosquito-borne virus spreading across Brazil and other regions.
The Olympic committee is also working with locals to control the mosquito population, including daily patrols to eliminate standing water near the areas where the Games will take place.
Advertisement
Verrill stresses that Zika fears are not the only things keeping her away from the Games, pointing to the high cost of travel, the lack of mobility with a young child, and the difficulty in getting good seats.
