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Ex-Steelers HC Bill Cowher, Wife Veronica Tested Positive for COVID Antibodies
July 1, 2020
Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher divulged Wednesday that both he and his wife, Veronica Stigeler, tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.
Cowher told The Athletic (h/t ESPN's Brooke Pryor) that he and his wife didn't get tested when they experienced symptoms in March. They did test positive for the antibodies in April, meaning they most likely had the coronavirus at some point.
Both Cowher and Stigeler have since recovered.
Cowher expressed his belief that he and his wife contracted COVID-19 while traveling back home from a trip to Honolulu:
"I think I got it in New York and all the traveling, people coming into Newark airport at the same time. That's when the virus came from Europe and there was no shutdown. We were out in New York that weekend as well in a few restaurants. Who knows? There were people in Honolulu coming from China and in Newark they were coming from Europe."
Cowher noted that both he and his wife lost their sense of smell and taste and had shaky joints soon after returning home to New York. A longtime studio analyst for CBS' The NFL Today, Cowher said he had a slight fever and his wife had a dry cough as well, all of which are known symptoms of coronavirus.
The 63-year-old served as head coach of the Steelers for 15 years from 1992-2006. He went 149-90-1 during the regular season and led Pittsburgh to the playoffs on 10 occasions.
Cowher took the Steelers to the Super Bowl twice, including Super Bowl XL at the conclusion of the 2005 season in which the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10.
Given his coaching accolades, Cowher was selected as part of the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, although he won't get to have his induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio, in August as originally scheduled. The coronavirus pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the Hall of Fame Game, and it prompted the Hall of Fame to push the ceremonies to next year.