Saints, Pelicans owner Benson has tested positive for COVID-19

Posted by on in , , , , ,
New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson poses for a photo with her late husband, and former team owner, Tom Benson inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints announced on Friday that Benson has tested positive for COVID-19. — Photo courtesy of CBS Sports
New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson poses for a photo with her late husband, and former team owner, Tom Benson inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints announced on Friday that Benson has tested positive for COVID-19. — Photo courtesy of CBS Sports

NEW ORLEANS — Gayle Benson has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Saints released a statement on Friday announcing that the 73-year-old owner of both the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans franchises had tested positive for the virus.

The statement from the Saints reads:

“Mrs. Benson wants to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. She is progressing well and improving daily. She has not missed a day of work calls at Saints and Pelicans and has participated in daily NBA, and NFL owners calls.”

The Saints have had three players initially test positive for COVID-19 but those three tests were have later believed to be false positives. Longtime head coach Sean Payton though did test positive back in March. 

New Orleans is scheduled to open the 2020 season at home on Sunday, Sept. 13 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No fans will be allowed inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome due to concerns over COVID-19.