NBA Vaccine Skeptics Speak Openly


More than 90 percent of NBA players have been vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the league, and all referees and key team personnel will be at the start of the season in three weeks with no exemptions. But a few high-profile players, including Nets star guard Kyrie Irving, have expressed skepticism about vaccines or have shied away from their vaccine status.

Irving’s immunization status could be as important a factor in the NBA standings as his team’s play, as the Nets are predicted to be the top contenders for the championship, and the team is one of three people whose players need to be vaccinated to play on their own courts. .

“I want to keep all this a secret,” Irving told reporters on Monday, when asked if he expects to play in home games this season. “Please respect my privacy. Any questions about what’s going on, please. Once we get that clear, everything will be released on a deadline.”

As the Nets held media day at the Barclays Center on Monday, Irving answered reporters’ questions via videoconference rather than face-to-face. multiple reports He said Irving wasn’t there because of the league’s health protocols. Inside Rolling Stone magazine Over the weekend, Irving’s aunt, Tyki Irving, said Irving was unvaccinated for “moral, not religious,” reasons. It is unclear when the meeting took place.

Since September 13, Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks play, require all employees and guests aged 12 and over to prove they have received at least one dose of the vaccine, without a religious or medical exemption. About sports arenas from Mayor Bill de Blasio.

A similar requirement in San Francisco applies to Chase Center, where the Golden State Warriors play. These authorizations mean that Knicks, Nets and Golden State players cannot play without the vaccine in 41 home games that the NBA and New York arenas define as having received at least one dose. Players must be fully vaccinated in the Chase Center. The NBA said that because they don’t have the vaccine, teams don’t have to pay players for missing those games. For Irving, who is in his third year of a four-year, $136 million contract, this could mean a significant loss.

The NBA players association has not accepted the vaccination requirement for its members, but the arbitral tribunal accepted one. All league and team personnel who come within 15 feet of players must be fully vaccinated, unless they have religious or medical exemptions. in the WNBA, 99 percent of players fully vaccinated by June. The women’s league is not authorized to vaccinate.

At least one NBA player tried to obtain a religious exemption to opt out of the vaccine: Golden State guard Andrew Wiggins. League He said on Friday he turned down his request.. Like Irving, Wiggins wouldn’t discuss his vaccination status at Golden State’s media day on Monday.

“Who are you, I have to explain what I believe?” said Wiggins. “Or what is right or wrong in my mind?”

But at the Wizards’ media day in Washington, guard Bradley Beal explained why he’s unvaccinated. The three-time All-Star missed the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for coronavirus. Beal told reporters about the experience: “I’ve never been sick. I lost my scent, but for me it was. Everyone will react differently.

“Some people have bad reactions to the vaccine. Nobody likes to talk about it. What happens if one of our players gets vaccinated and can’t play after that? Or do they have complications after that? Because there are situations like this.”

There is no publicly known case where professional basketball players do not waste time due to vaccine-related side effects. serious side effects are rare for everyone. However, some athletes spoke about persistent breathing and muscle problems After Covid-19. The NBA and players association reported more than 75 positive coronavirus tests among players during the 2020-21 season, most of them before vaccines were widely available.

Another vocal vaccine skeptic is Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac, 23, who told Rolling Stone he was unvaccinated and confirmed to reporters on Monday.

“At the end of the day, humans are,” Isaac told the magazine, referring to the scientists who developed the vaccines. “And you can’t always fully trust people.”

According to Rolling Stone, Isaac was “reading the history of Blacks and watching Donald Trump’s press conferences” to report his vaccination stance. (Former President Donald J. Trump was vaccinated in January, but states that he won the 2020 elections much lower vaccination rates More than those who prefer President Biden.)

On Monday, Isaac objected to the magazine’s description of him.

“I am not anti-vaccine. I am not anti-drug. I am not anti-science. I didn’t get to my current immunization status by reading Black history or watching Donald Trump press conferences,” said Isaac. I do nothing but express my utmost respect for every healthcare worker and person who works tirelessly to keep us safe in Orlando and around the world.”

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, who helped his team reach the finals last season, said: Announced on Twitch livestream He had contracted Covid-19 over the weekend and lost his sense of taste and smell. As a result, he is expected to miss at least part of the bootcamp that starts this week.

“I won’t tell you guys if I have the vaccine, but you can still get Covid with the vaccine,” Booker said on the air, adding, “Educate yourself.”

Several players have participated in campaigns that encourage people to get vaccinated, including Milwaukee Bucks’ Jrue Holiday and Karl-Anthony Towns of Minnesota Timberwolves, whose mother died of Covid-19. Commissioner Adam Silver said in the spring most players expected to be vaccinated.

Some of Irving’s teammates said on Monday they weren’t worried about the vaccine situation.

“It’s on Kyrie and it’s his personal decision,” said Nets forward Kevin Durant. “It’s not for us to predict what might happen, but we trust Kyrie. I expect we’ll have our entire team at some point.”





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