The NBA and its players’ union have largely been on the same page in recent years. They’ve been able to work through a variety of issues, and last year when the COVID-19 pandemic first surfaced, they worked together to salvage the season and playoffs through the “bubble” setup in Florida. This year the league plans to resume its regular 82-game schedule, and also allow most arenas to resume selling tickets to capacity with a couple of exceptions.
But one thing the league didn’t expect was problems with unvaccinated players. The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) specifically prevents the NBA from issuing a vaccine mandate without player approval, and thus far the union has shown no interest in giving it. However a couple of weeks ago Commissioner Adam Silver claimed the overwhelming majority of NBA players were already vaccinated, and he didn’t anticipate any problems when training camps opened.
Well, camps are slated to begin next week, and suddenly issues in at least two cases have surfaced. The first involved the Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins. He has refused to be vaccinated for what he says are religious reasons, and sought a vaccine exemption from the league on those grounds. Wiggins’ request was denied, but he maintains he will continue refusing to be vaccinated. The Warriors play their home games in San Francisco, which is one of the nation’s cities that have a vaccine mandate for all indoor events.
Wiggins’ decision means the Warriors won’t have his services for at least 41 home games, as well as any road games that they play in New York City, another locale with an indoor vaccine mandate.
The Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving is another player who’s thus far refused to be vaccinated. If he maintains that stance, the Nets won’t be able to use him for the 41 home games in Brooklyn, plus other games against hometown rival the New York Knicks, or if they face the Warriors in San Francisco.
Hall-of-Fame center and the NBA’s all-time scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had harsh words this past weekend for Wiggins, Irving and any other player who refuses to be vaccinated. “The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team,” Abdul-Jabbar told Sports Illustrated. “What I find especially disingenuous about the vaccine deniers is their arrogance.” He also pointed to both the disproportionate number of Blacks dying from COVID-19 and the lagging vaccine rates in many African American communities. “By not encouraging their people (the NBA) to get the vaccine, they’re contributing to these deaths,” Abdul-Jabbar continued. “I’m also concerned about how this perpetuates the stereotype of dumb jocks who are unable to look at verified scientific evidence and reach a rational conclusion.”
The league estimated that as of last week between 85 and 90 percent of its players were vaccinated (the WNBA rate is 99 percent). But if between 10 and 15 percent of its players remain unvaccinated, teams face a potential roster shortage, and the league looks bad image wise with participants openly flaunting the advice of medical and scientific experts. This is a situation that bears watching closely as the regular season’s opening day approaches.
