Mets' Alonso comes to defence of teammate for undergoing surgery during pandemic

On Monday, Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated wrote a piece that questioned whether or not pitchers should be undergoing Tommy John surgery during the coronavirus pandemic. Rookie sensation Pete Alonso, of the New York Mets, did not take kindly to the idea that athletes should not be allowed to undergo surgeries that impact their ability to work.

His teammate, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, underwent the procedure last Friday.

Alonso seemed to take offence to the thought that athletes should be reluctant to undergo surgeries while health care systems across the United States are being overrun by COVID-19 outbreaks. The 25-year-old did not mince his words when voicing his displeasure with the article on Twitter:

"The issue I have is that the tone of this article suggests that players are making the decisions to get surgeries."

He added, "No athlete wants to go through a serious surgery and grueling recovery process. This surgery is done when it is absolutely necessary for their arm."

Currently, several states have imposed bans on any non-essential surgery in order to free up resources in the fight against COVID-19. Famed athletic surgeon Dr. James Andrews has suspended all Tommy John procedures in compliance with Florida's ban, but other sports medicine specialists, such as Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles, continue to operate.

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