“We’re not talking about something that’s, you know, political or racism or police brutality. “We’re talking about individuals’ bodies,” James said at the Lakers’ Media Day. Yet James added that he would not use his influence to push other players to get vaccinated. James said he made the decision to get vaccinated in order to protect not only himself but also his family and friends. James, who is both the NBA’s biggest star and its most influential player behind the scenes, revealed on Tuesday that he was fully vaccinated, despite some initial skepticism. The current situation has also put the NBA’s vaccinated players in the awkward position of feeling obligated to provide cover for their unvaccinated peers-a courtesy that these peers don’t exactly deserve.

But the continuing refusal of some stars to get vaccinated is a worrisome sign for a league that, because of the small size of each team’s roster, has little margin for error. The attention that a modest number of players are drawing is disheartening for the NBA, which for most of the past year and a half has shown strong leadership in battling the pandemic. So you all can still get COVID, right?” Never mind that health experts have repeatedly said that the COVID-19 vaccines offer strong protection against severe illness, hospitalization, and death but not necessarily against contracting the coronavirus itself. It doesn’t eliminate anybody from getting COVID, right? So is everybody in here vaxxed, I would assume? Right. “Why are they still getting COVID? If that’s something that we are supposed to highly be protected from, like, it’s funny that it only reduces your chances of going to the hospital. “I would like an explanation to, you know, people with vaccines,” he said Monday. Each player made troubling, uninformed statements when asked why he hadn’t been vaccinated.īeal, for example, tried to turn questions about vaccination back on reporters. Ninety percent of NBA players are vaccinated, the league has reported, but the unvaccinated status of the Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving, the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal, the Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins, and the Orlando Magic’s Jonathan Isaac took center stage. The big story out of Media Day was the misguided opinions of players who have refused vaccination against COVID-19.

But unfortunately for pro basketball, the headlines after this week’s interviews weren’t about how likely the Milwaukee Bucks are to repeat as NBA champions, or whether LeBron James and his veteran Los Angeles Lakers team can add another title to James’s legendary résumé. In most years, NBA Media Day is pretty uneventful-just an opportunity for players and teams to gather before the press and discuss their goals for the upcoming season. About the author: Jemele Hill is a contributing writer at The Atlantic.

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