The Golden State Warriors are facing a tough situation right now. They’ll have Klay Thompson back at some point in the upcoming NBA seasonbut could be without one of their key rotation players, as Andrew Wiggins refuses to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The city of San Francisco mandated that all student-athletes over 12 years old had to be vaccinated to play indoors, barring religious or medical exemptions. Needless to say, Wiggins doesn’t qualify for either.
So, now that he could miss half of the season over his anti-vaxx stance, Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr have had to chime in on this controversy. And neither of them seems too pleased about Wiggins’ situation.
Warriors News: Stephen Curry Says He Hopes Wiggins Can Play
“At the end of the day, it is up to him. I think it’s no secret to that point,” Curry told ClutchPoints. “We obviously hope that he has all the right information and access to the right resources to ask all the questions he has on making decisions.”
“We hope he’s available. We hope it moves in the right direction. I got it and am ready to be available and following the mandates and whatnot. But that’s kind of where it is, and the next coming weeks and how it all plays out is going to be entirely up to him. We obviously hope he’s available and with us, and we’ll go from there,” the 2-time MVP concluded.
Steve Kerr Says The Warriors Believe In The Vaccine
Steve Kerr was a little blunter when asked about the situation. He was clear and said that the team believes in the vaccine and that. Even so, he said that he’ll respect Wiggins’ views on the subject:
“I believe in the vaccine,” Kerr told Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Our team believes in it. We are living in a world where everybody is divided, and everything becomes a political tool. You say one thing, and it gets weaponized, either for you or against you. You have to navigate all of this stuff delicately. We try to treat everybody with respect, and I think that’s all we can do: respect each other, try to communicate on a really sane level, and see where everything goes.”
Kerr also said that the team is preparing as if Wiggins were to play and that they have no contingency plan right now. Clearly, that could be a major issue once the season starts if he’s not cleared to play:
“There’s no sense in speculating right now,” Kerr added “In an NBA season, what I’ve learned is that a million things happen. You just adapt on the fly. If you tried to get ready for every contingency, you’d be running around in circles. He’s practicing. He looks great. He’s in good spirits. His teammates love him. His coaches love him. We’re happy that he’s in the building, and we’re all just working and getting ready for the season. We’ll adapt accordingly.”
Wiggins, like most anti-vaxxers, isn’t likely to change his mind regardless of what people tell him. He said that he doesn’t care about losing money, so the Warriors could be forced to make a tough call and consider trading him.
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