NBA teams started training camp this week, but instead of roster changes and championship hopes, many teams were left talking about vaccination controversy during Media Day sessions. Major stars like Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal and Andrew Wiggins together with Jonathan Isaac denounced the vaccine and create confusions not just on other players but also with the league and arena staffers.
The league announced via spokesperson Mike Bass told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, that they will not require vaccinations for players. However, the league also told teams that new local COVID-19 requirements in New York and San Francisco regarding vaccine requirements will be enforced for members of the teams in those cities -Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks -- including players, unless there is an approved medical or religious exemption. layers who are unvaccinated in those cities won't be allowed to play in home games, per the vaccine mandates, and they will also risk pay for every game they sit out.
With that, Irving who reportedly isn't vaccinated, that would cost
him $300K a game the same goes to Beal and Wiggins. But coaches, referees and support staff who work closely with players are required to get fully vaccinated. Kyrie expresses over Zoom “Please respect my privacy,”, as if contracting the virus would be a private matter instead of one that could conceivably kill another human being. Wiggin told reporters at Warriors Media Day “Back is definitely against the wall but I’m just going to keep fighting for what I believe. And whether it’s one thing or another, get a vaccination or not get a vaccination, who knows? I’m just going to keep fighting for what I believe and what I believe is right. What’s right to one person isn’t right to
the other and vice versa.” And Beal ridicule "Most people who get COVID-19 are unvaccinated. However, since vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection, some people who are fully vaccinated will still get COVID-19,"
“A vaccine mandate for NBA players would need an agreement with the Players Association,” NBA spokesman Bass said. “The NBA has made these proposals, but the players’ union has rejected any vaccination requirement.”
Lebron James of the Los Angeles Lakers said he had been “very skeptical” about the vaccine initially before deciding it was the right thing to do. Steph Curry was asked about the Wiggins situation and told that “It’s not ideal” and Kevin Durant was reportedly trying to convince Irving to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Karl Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves says he lost 7 family members including his mom, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, due to COVID-19 and opened up about the losses his family has experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Twolves star also said that he also lost 50 pounds during the ordeal that kept him out from Jan. 15, the day he tested positive, to Feb. 10. “I just remember (quarantining) in the house, and it was more than just COVID for me. I felt like I was going
through a holistic journey.”
Most of its players have done the right thing, especially in light of the league office and teams instituting mandates for their employees to be vaccinated to continue work. Hearing about the stars being so vociferous in their objections makes it feel as if most players are going against the grain when it’s the total opposite.
Health and safety protocols for vaccinated and unvaccinated players have not yet been finalized, league sources said. But it's expected, as ESPN previously reported, that unvaccinated players will face more testing and be asked to sit in separate areas of team meetings, team meals, locker rooms, on the team plane and bus.
With a majority of the players and virtually all team and arena personnel vaccinated, the league is clearly hoping that it won't have to postpone nearly as many games as it did a season ago. The deadline for team personnel to be fully vaccinated is Oct. 1.
NBA Regular Season will begin on Oct 19, 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks ready to defend the title.
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