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As Karl-Anthony Towns prepares to begin his sixth season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he said he also continues to deal with the deaths of his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, and six other family members who are also died of complications from the coronavirus.
“I’ve been through a lot, obviously starting with my mom,” Towns said on Friday. “Last night I got a call saying I lost my uncle. I feel like I’ve been a little life hardened and humiliated.”
On March 25, Towns shared a moving video on Instagram explaining that his mother had been placed on a ventilator and was in a medically induced coma from the virus. Cruz-Towns died on April 13 at the age of 58.
“I’ve seen a lot of coffins over the past seven months,” Towns said. “I have a lot of people who – in my family and my mother’s family – have contracted COVID. I’m still looking for answers, trying to figure out how to keep them healthy. It is just a big responsibility on me to keep my family well informed and take whatever steps are necessary to keep them alive. “
Towns’ father Karl Sr. also contracted the virus but recovered.
Towns posted several video updates on his social media detailing his experiences taking care of his mother and how he felt after her death. He said he felt the need to share these videos to help people better understand the effects of the disease.
“I didn’t want people to feel what I was feeling,” Towns said. “I wanted to try to keep them from going through the ordeal and the situation that I was going through. It just came from a place where I didn’t want people to feel as alone and upset as I was. I really made this video. just to Protect others and keep others well informed, even though I knew it was going to take me out the most emotionally I’ve ever been asked to do. “
Towns said his teammates – especially D’Angelo Russell – helped him navigate the weeks after losing his mother. He said he had received a slew of support calls and texts from members of the Timberwolves organization.
Towns said that while he is happy to be back in basketball, it will also be difficult for him to play without his mother. Cruz-Towns has rarely missed a game.
“It always made me smile when I saw my mom in the back and in the stands and had a good time watching myself play,” Towns said. “It’s going to be hard to play. It will be hard to say this is therapy. I don’t think so. [playing basketball] will never be therapy for me again. But it gives me a chance to relive good memories I had. “
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