All of a sudden, the NBA is facing a bit of a complicated issue. Players of the likes of Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal have taken a stance against the COVID-19 vaccine, creating a bit of a domino effect around the league.
While unvaccinated players won’t face fines for the most part and will only have to deal with different protocols, those who play home games in San Francisco, New York, and soon Los Angeles will have to be vaccinated due to government mandates.
Needless to say, that will only lead to more controversy and backlash from some, and that’s why Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been quite vocal while calling out anti-vaxx NBA players.
NBA News: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rips ‘Whiny’ Andrew Wiggins Over Anti-Vaxx Fiasco
This time, the Hall of Famer took a massive shot at Andrew Wiggins, who ranted about how a bad reaction to Tylenol made him not want to take the vaccine and said that he hoped others were stronger about their principles than he was:
(Transcript Via Kareem’s Substack)
“He’s not wrong in being concerned about generational wealth because the U.S. has historically made it more difficult for Black families to accrue wealth that they can pass along to other generations to give them some of the advantages that white people have… Where Wiggins is wrong is in prioritizing his family’s generational wealth, which at his salary of about $29.54 million a year, is in no real danger. That excuse doesn’t really hold up. Especially when he’s clearly choosing money for him and his family over the health and lives of other families not as fortunate as him.”
As I’ve asked before, what specific right is he fighting for? The right to do whatever you want with your body doesn’t exist in pretty much any civilized society because we recognize that those who behave recklessly and irresponsibly can harm others. You do own your body—unless a deadly virus turns that body into a plague delivery system that can kill hundreds of thousands. Today, while Andrew Wiggins was gathering his generational wealth, 2,036 people died of COVID-19 and 71,905 new cases were confirmed. Of these deaths and new cases, 97 percent of them were unvaccinated. Tomorrow and the day after and the day after, more will die and others will face long-term health problems. He could help prevent that. He chose to use his body not to.”
Well, ouch. Abdul-Jabbar is swinging at full steam and won’t be silenced. He’s known for his work as an activist and he’ll try and set the record straight with every player that crosses him. Fortunately, that’s not a long list.
