With NBA camps opening this week, the league would love for attention to be focused on their 75th anniversary celebration. This year a select media committee will name the all-time NBA team, the top 75 players in league history. Who those players will be, what percentage will come from the eras before the trio of Magic/Bird/Jordan, and which foreign players will make the list are the questions that league officials would love to see some media attention given.
But instead, the main focus remains on the percentage of NBA players who refuse to be vaccinated. The league announced last week that players who missed home games due to local regulations wouldn’t be paid for those missed games, an announcement that thus far the players union has not challenged. Both New York and San Francisco have regulations prohibiting unvaccinated people 12 years and older from attending large indoor gatherings. The San Francisco regulation prohibits home players, but not visitors.
Previously the Warriors Andrew Wiggins had refused to take the vaccine and sought a religious exemption, which the league denied. But the Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said over the weekend that Wiggins had been vaccinated and would be available for home games. Wiggins is scheduled to start at shooting guard for the Warriors until Klay Thompson returns and is set to earn $31.6 millon.
The New York Knicks have announced that all their players have been vaccinated. But the Brooklyn Nets’ star guard Kyrile Irving reportedly has refused thus far to take the vaccine. Irving was not permitted to attend last week’s Nets media day in person due to those regulations.
The league maintains that up to 95 percent of its membership is vaccinated and some observers feel far too much is being made regarding the minority that aren’t. Such players as Draymond Green, Lebron James and Kyle Kuzma have attacked writers for putting too much emphasis on the few unvaccinated NBA union members, the most prominent of whom now include in addition to Irving Bradley Beal of the Wizards and Jonathan Isaac of the Magic. Isaac was ripped in a Rolling Stone article in such a strong fashion he publicly responded.
“I am not anti-vax,” Isaac said in a statement. “I’m not anti-medicine. I’m not anti-science. I didn’t come to my current vaccination status by studying Black history or watching Donald Trump press conferences. I have nothing but the utmost respect for every healthcare worker and person in Orlando and all across the world that have worked tirelessly to keep us safe. My mom has worked in healthcare for a really long time. I thank God, I’m grateful that I live in a society where vaccines are possible and we can protect ourselves and have the means to protect ourselves in the first place.”
“But with that being said, it is my belief that the vaccine status of every person should be their own choice and completely up to them without bullying, without being pressured or without being forced into doing so. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m uncomfortable with taking the vaccine at this time. I think that we’re all different. We all come from different places. We’ve all had different experiences and hold dear to different beliefs. And what it is that you do with your body when it comes to putting medicine in there should be your choice, free of the ridicule and the opinion of others.”
By contrast, the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had harsh words for any player refusing to be vaccinated.
The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team,” Abdul-Jabbar said to Rolling Stone.He
“There is no room for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their teammates, the staff and the fans simply because they are unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation or do the necessary research.”
He also said later on Don Lemon Tonight “I don’t think that they are behaving like good teammates or good citizens. This is a war that we’re involved in. And masks and vaccines — they are the weapons that we use to fight this war.”
It’s an issue to closely follow the rest of the season. The league can’t unilaterally impose vaccination mandates due to the CBA. But whether unvaccinated players prove a problem or have an impact on team performance and standings will be something to monitor.
