The leftist sports media has gone all in to attack the NBA’s unvaccinated players, especially Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving for his desire to keep his coronavirus vaccination status a private matter.
Irving is among the tiny ten percent of players who are reticent to take a coronavirus vaccine.
Still, Irving and a few other players have resisted the push to vaccinate and Irving is even beginning to mount personal protests over being pressured to take a vaccine. Irving, for example, refused to attend in person a recent media day for the team because New York City had passed a rule requiring athletes to show proof of the jab to be allowed to play in a city arena.
Irving has also asked the media to respect his wishes over his desire to keep his vaccination status a private issue and has refused to speak of his personal status in public.
None of this satisfies the liberal sports media as one after another they line up to excoriate Irving and the few other unvaccinated players.
Extreme leftist former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, for instance, slammed Irving for his “arrogance” and hypocrisy for not taking the vaccine.
“The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team,” Abdul-Jabbar told the equally leftist 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.”
Deadspin writer Carron J. Phillips blasted Irving for his “narcissism,” and called him the “piper of NBA anti-vaxxers.” Carron added, “But that’s the thing about the ones who are opposed to ‘getting the shot.’ They believe their self interests trumps science and the betterment of mankind.”
Others were nearly as virulent. ESPN accused Irving of causing NBA staffers who are vaccinated to “fear” being exposed to the coronavirus because of the small number of unvaccinated players. The Washington Post slapped Irving for thinking he is “too smart for you,” and said his legacy will be damaging the league instead of leaving a legacy of athletic excellence. Yahoo Sports blasted the league for giving space for Irving and the unvaccinated players to “be loud and wrong.” And the L.A. Times dismissed Irving’s concerns and told him to just “do the right thing” and get vaccinated.
Naturally, all the usual suspects on Twitter went wild to attack Irving over the vaccine issue.
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