Throughout his teenage years, the sniffles continued to be an issue. In more trouble injury news for the Philadelphia 76ers, power forward Dario Saric has come down with a case of the sniffles.
Nearing the end of a tremendous season, Saric was noted by reporters to be touching his nose tenderly and speaking in a more nasal tone than is typically expected out of the Croatian rookie. After a few weeks of avoiding to address the problem in the press, the Sixers issued a press release stating that Saric “is listed as day-to-day and will be reevaluated in the coming days.”
A brief look into Saric’s medical history reveals that this is a troubling trend. Sources tell The Rectangle that starting at a young age, the sniffles have plagued Saric’s life. Starting at age 3, when his mother was truly worried about a particularly bad bout of sniffles, Saric has fought the affliction nearly every year of his life.
At age 6, Saric had to miss a day of school in order to nurse his ailing body and his family consulted with doctors as to whether the sniffles would require a longer recovery time. The following year, Saric missed two days of school with the ailment, forcing him to miss an important opportunity to practice “popcorn reading” with classmates.
At age eight, once again the sniffles were suspected to be attacking the young man’s body, but further inquiry revealed that Saric fabricated the claims of illness in order to avoid taking a particularly daunting spelling test. Saric denies this report, though it has been substantiated through multiple close sources.
A year later, the sniffles recurred with a real vengeance, sidelining Saric for multiple important pee wee basketball games, a result that was clearly very upsetting to a player so dedicated to his craft.
It was a difficult childhood for Saric, but mostly the tough youngster fought through the ailment. At age 16, Dario even asked Sally Johnson to prom while afflicted, though the proposal had to be completed through the complication of multiple sneezes.
Saric has attempted a variety of maladies to cure the illness throughout the years. Typically, a “good night’s sleep” is prescribed as well as getting some rest. Further, occasionally more holistic methods were attempted, such as a hometown tradition known as chicken noodle soup.
“Saric has attempted the usual methods of dealing with the sniffles and has been unsuccessful. The Sixers are consulting with outside doctors before they make their decision on treatment” a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports said.
The team has yet to address that report and Saric remains listed as day-to-day. A particularly troubling video emerged over the last few days, showing Saric dancing on stage with Croatian rock band Parni Valjak with little to no concern for his health issues. Fans and media alike have decried the actions as careless, especially pointing out that athletes should have no lives outside of basketball.
As of now, nothing is known about the immediate future for the rookie, but this story will be updated as more information emerges.
UPDATE: At 1:35 p.m. on April 1, 2017, the Sixers PR team released a press release saying that Saric will miss the remainder of the season with the sniffles and that surgical options are being explored.