With the 2021-22 NBA season set to get started in the next couple of weeks and the Los Angeles Lakers looking to reclaim their status as NBA Champions, there remains some things that need to be worked out on a larger scale across the league. Primarily, there is the question of vaccinations and whether or not players should be required to do so.
While many players, coaches and staff are vaccinated already, there is still a large number who aren’t with notable names such as Kyrie Irving, Jonathan Isaac and Andrew Wiggins among those opposed to receiving it. Everyone has their own reasons as to why they choose not to, but Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn’t buying any of it.
In an interview with Matt Sullivan of Rolling Stone, Abdul-Jabbar called for the NBA to mandate vaccinations for all players, believing they are putting everyone at risk by refusing it:
“The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team,” NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tells Rolling Stone. “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. 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?”
This is a very touchy subject and one that can be very contentious in discussion. Regardless of what Abdul-Jabbar or anyone else believes, the NBA Players Association would have to agree to such a move and it is difficult seeing them agreeing to a complete mandate for all players.
Abdul-Jabbar brings up some interesting points in the danger that non-vaccinated players could be presenting to everyone else. The league has its plans in place going into the season and while Abdul-Jabbar is looking out for the well-being of everyone in this declaration, what he is asking for is still unlikely to happen.
Abdul-Jabbar excited for James to break scoring record
When it comes to on-the-court things, Abdul-Jabbar remains the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, but that is now in danger with LeBron James coming on strong. But that doesn’t bother Kareem as he is excited for his record to be broken, seeing records as ‘human achievements’ and that he will be cheering him on.
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