NBA May Ask Lakers' LeBron James to Appear in Pro-Vaccine PSA
Coming off the heels of speculation that the Lakers may benefit with the state mandated vaccinations, Rolling Stone's Matt Sullivan came out with an explosive story about the current vaccine predicament across the league.
The article goes in-depth about how it was a ‘non-starter’ for proposed vaccine mandates around the league, and how about 50 to 60 players out of about 450 players are not currently vaccinated.
Orlando Magic’s Jonathan Isaac spoke in detail to Rolling Stone about the reasons why it was not in his best interest to get vaccinated. Kyrie Irving was also featured in length about the things he has been doing to combat getting vaccinated.
"Irving, who serves as a vice president on the executive committee of the players’ union, recently started following and liking Instagram posts from a conspiracy theorist who claims that “secret societies” are implanting vaccines in a plot to connect Black people to a master computer for “a plan of Satan.” This Moderna microchip misinformation campaign has spread across multiple NBA locker rooms and group chats, according to several of the dozen-plus current players, Hall-of-Famers, league executives, arena workers and virologists interviewed for this story over the past week."
It seems to have gotten so fraught for the league, that they are considering asking two of their biggest stars to create a PSA to try and convince people to get vaccinated.
Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went on the record and released a statement to Rolling Stone about how anti-vaccine players should no longer be considered as role models for anyone.
“They are failing to live up to the responsibilities that come with celebrity. Athletes are under no obligation to be spokespersons for the government, but this is a matter of public health. By not encouraging their people to get the vaccine, they’re contributing to these deaths. I’m also concerned about how this perpetuates the stereotype of dumb jocks who are unable to look at verified scientific evidence and reach a rational conclusion.”
Abdul-Jabber is especially disappointed with players of color who refuse to get vaccinated. According to the CDC, black Americans are the slowest rate to get vaccinated, and Abdul-Jabber expects black players to be the forefront to convince African Americans to get the vaccine.
With the season around the corner and the debate of vaccination amongst players to continue, this topic will continued to be monitored, especially since one of the biggest stars, Irving, is against vaccination and plays on the team that poses the biggest threat to the Lakers title hopes.
