NBA Fans are Dunking on Kyle Kuzma On Social Media Over Vaccination Tweet
Athletes having opinions is not a new thing. In the days of social media (particularly Twitter) is where things have truly changed.
Getting vaccinated against the horrible COVID-19 pandemic that has taken the lives of nearly 700,000 Americans has become a controversial opinion, for some reason. The NBA is even considering asking a few of the leagues biggest stars to do PSA's so that people will get their vaccines. Andrew Wiggins has been denied his exemption for religious reasons, and many players have been giving short answers about their vaccine statuses, despite other countries desperate for vaccines against this pandemic.
Former Laker Kyle Kuzma decided to weigh in with his opinion, and here it is.
Okay, let's try and break down this tweet. Kuzma is not the first athlete to fundamentally misunderstand what HIPAA rules are. Claiming "HIPAA" as an answer to whether one is vaccinated or not is the new Michael Scott declaring "BANKRUPTCY" by shouting it as loudly as possible, which is to say--it is completely misunderstood by the people invoking it. It appears Kuzma referenced HIPAA thinking it exempted him from answering questions about his vaccine status.
One Twitter user was more than happy to educate Kuzma on this exact concept.
The meme posted in response has accurate information, and works at being humorous as well. One particular user also decided to take a jab (pun absolutely intended) at Kuzma's tweet.
That's a crushing tweet in response to a player known for being wholly inconsistent during his first few years in the NBA. He is often torched by the players he is defending, and for every 20 point game he has a few clunkers, particularly during the playoffs.
It's also a sign of the times. Taking a potentially life-saving vaccine against a pandemic the likes of the world has not seen in about a century has somehow become a political issue. It is clearly a hot-button topic and the truth of social media is that if you have a 'hot take' as they say, prepared to get some angry or passionate responses.
If we were to go for poetic accuracy, a more apt response could reference the fact that Kuzma's opinion on getting the vaccine is a lot of like his personal success as a Laker: the shot was there, ready, and available for Kuzma, but he never took it.
