Utah Jazz Guard Mike Conley Jr. Misses His Child's Birth Because of NBA Bubble

Utah Jazz Guard Mike Conley Jr. Misses His Child’s Birth Because of NBA Bubble

Utah Jazz Guard Mike Conley Jr. Misses His Child’s Birth Because of NBA Bubble

When it comes to continuing the 2020 NBA season, players, coaches, and staff members who opted to participate have had to make sacrifices. Sacrifices like not being able to see their families until the second half of the season concluded.

One of the consequences of making those sacrifices was seen first hand when Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley Jr. just missed his child being born earlier this week. On August 16, 11 days early, Mike’s wife, Mary, went into labor.

Mike left the bubble as quickly as possible, but sadly, he couldn’t get to the Columbus, Ohio hospital fast enough. Without his father in the hospital room, Mary gave birth to their third son. Mike watched via a video chat as he raced to get there.

In an interview with E! News, Mary talked candidly about the possibility of not having her husband in the room to support her as she gave birth. “You know, signing up to be a wife of an NBA player, you are prepared for your spouse, your significant other, to leave, to travel, to be gone for long periods of time. And that was something I was always mentally prepared for. Having him gone for months at a time was something that I was not ever prepared for.”

Nonetheless, Mary thought that because she was pregnant, they would be able to enter into the bubble with Mike. However, that’s not what happened.

“When COVID first started, I felt really bad for all the women who were due to have babies during that time and you know whether their spouse couldn’t be there, or they were only allowed one person [in the hospital]. I was so grateful, selfishly, that I wasn’t having my baby in the early spring. Well, here we are in August, and COVID is still affecting everybody and affecting me big time with them in the bubble.”

Mary Conley

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Mary admitted that the last few weeks of her pregnancy without her husband there were difficult. And so the family relied heavily on FaceTime to make sure Mike didn’t miss out on when their oldest son, Myles, turned 4 and when Mary and Mike celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary.

Now, Mary and Mike are the proud parents of three boys with the arrival of Elijah Michael Conley, who their oldest son calls, Lightning Thunder Michael Alex Conley. And boy do they have a story to tell him when he’s old enough to understand. Congratulations to the Conley family!

Sara Vallone has been a writer and editor for the last four and a half years. A graduate of Ohio University, she enjoys celebrity news, sports, and articles that enhance people's lives.

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