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Lions' Kerryon Johnson's Brother Kerron Stranded in Romania Due to COVID-19

Tim Daniels@TimDanielsBRFeatured ColumnistMay 29, 2020

Belmont guard Kerron Johnson (3) drives past Florida Gulf Coast guard Sherwood Brown (25) during the second half of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, March 3, 2012, in Macon, Ga. Belmont won 83-69. (AP Photo/Jason Vorhees)
Jason Vorhees/Associated Press

Former Belmont University guard Kerron Johnson said Thursday he's been stuck in Romania for over two months because of travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson, the brother of Detroit Lions running back Kerryon Johnson, currently plays for Cluj-Napoca in the Romanian Liga Nationala. He told Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel he's starting to fear he'll miss the birth of his first child with his wife eight months pregnant.

"To me, that's my worst fear," he said. "To not be there for his first breath and for my wife. That's my worry out of all this. I'll miss that moment. You don't get those moments back."

His wife, Gina Johnson, told Thamel she was in contact with the United States Embassy in Romania this week but received little in the form of information, empathy or offers to help.

"It's come to the point where I'm probably accepting the fact he may not be here for the birth," Gina said. "I'm preparing for that."

She added: "It feels like he's been abandoned."

Johnson had a flight home scheduled for mid-March but canceled the trip after the airline said pets were no longer allowed on the plane under COVID-19 guidelines. He didn't want to leave the family dog, Kota, behind.

"We didn't want to abandon him," he told Yahoo Sports.

Johnson noted June 15 is the date they've received for when international travel to the U.S. could resume, per Thamel, "but that date has already been pushed back multiple times."

"This is our first child," he said. "Most of my day is spent trying to keep her nerves down. She just wants me to be home. I'm just trying to keep it together."

The 29-year-old Florida native has played professionally in New Zealand, Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Israel and now Romania since his college career with the Bruins ended in 2013.


Bleacher Report's David Gardner interviews athletes and other sports figures for the podcast How to Survive Without Sports.