As more high-profile NBA players are still unvaccinated, NBA legends are starting to voice their opinions on the subject.
Recently Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said he believes unvaccinated NBA players and staff should leave the league.
The Veteran Perspective
“The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team,” Abdul-Jabbar said to Rolling Stone in a feature published last week.
“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.”
“What I find especially disingenuous about the vaccine deniers is their arrogance at disbelieving immunology and other medical experts,” the Lakers legend continued. ‘Yet, if their child was sick or they themselves needed emergency medical treatment, how quickly would they do exactly what those same experts told them to do?”
The six-time NBA champion is an avid advocate for vaccination and was the face of an NBA-sponsored PSA vaccination campaign. Abdul-Jabbar got his vaccine on camera and encouraged others to follow suit.
On Monday, Abdul-Jabbar talked to CNN’s “Don Lemon Tonight” and elaborated further.
“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.”
The New Dilemma
Resistance to vaccinations and the conversation around it have heated up lately as players in significant markets with vaccine mandates have chosen not to get the shot.
Some star players are still fighting the vaccine. To find out why the NBA can’t force them to do it click here …
