Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is taking a swipe at Kyrie Irving and the 10% of NBA players who remain unvaccinated ahead of 2021-22.
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A report last week said around 9/10th of all NBA players have been fully vaccinated. In an interview recently, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who has been advocating for others to get the COVID vaccine, said that the league must step in.
The NBA later released a statement. They were of the opinion that it cannot force anyone to get vaccinated unless the player union approves of it.
The NBA Players Union, where Kyrie Irving is vice president, has not agreed to any requirements for COVID-19 vaccines.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says NBA players who aren’t willing to get vaccinated should be ‘disciplined’
In a recent interview with CNN, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar commented –
“I think they should be disciplined. I don’t think they behave like good teammates or good citizens.”
The Los Angeles Laker Legend further went on to say –
“There is no place for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their teammates, staff and fans just because they are unable to grasp the gravity of the situation or to do the research necessary.”
The 19-time All-Star then added fuel to the fire by saying that they have “blood on their hands” if they continue to “promote reluctance and claim to need more research”.
He then moves to condemn the players by saying –
“When you are not cooperative with that, you are working against the effort to make everyone safe.”
The NBA Legend then talks about how vaccines and masks are “weapons to fight in this war” against the pandemic. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s comments on CNN come a few days after he previously condemned unvaccinated gamers in an interview.
The 6-time NBA Champion “cannot accept” Kyrie Irving’s stance on the Covid-19 vaccine
Kyrie Irving’s refused to reveal his vaccination status after missing an earlier media day with the Nets in New York City due to COVID-19 protocols.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar later told CNN’s Don Lemon that he “can’t accept” Irving’s statement.
The 6-time MVP then goes on to say –
“He’s hiding behind procedure here. Either you understand what’s going on and you’re going to do the right thing or you don’t understand what’s going on.”
“You’re going to continue to create all this confusion with your stance.”
He concludes the interview by saying –
“Players are free to choose not to be vaccinated. But they must have the courage of their moral convictions to stay out of the season, supported in the righteousness of their choice.”
It is fair to say Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is not the biggest fan of Kyrie Irving’s off-court antics.
