LeBron James, Kyrie Irving reveal positions on COVID-19 vaccine
Yahoo Finance's Zack Guzman and Akiko Fujita discuss the vaccine divide between some of the biggest names in the NBA.
Video Transcript
ZACK GUZMAN: In today's Hot Takes, don't ask me about it, is what we're hearing from some of the NBA stars out there in regards to their vaccination status. Of course, it becomes a rather important question as to whether or not stars are going to be able to play, given some of the state requirements we've seen here in New York.
That was top of mind for reporters at the Brooklyn Nets media day, asking star Kyrie Irving about his vaccine status and whether or not it means he's going to have to sit out home games if he's not vaccinated. Take a listen to what he had to say when he was asked by reporters.
KYRIE IRVING: I'm a human being first. And, obviously, living in this public sphere, there's just a lot of questions about what's going on in-- you know, in the world of Kyrie. And I think I just would love to just keep that private and, you know, handle it the right way with my team and go forward together. Please, everything will be released at a due date and once we get this cleared up. But as of right now, just please respect my privacy regarding anything, my home games, what's happening, vaccination. Please.
ZACK GUZMAN: And Akiko, we should note this is probably a-- you know, a small minority here when it comes to the NBA players. But if it's a big name player like Kyrie who has to sit out, obviously, it's going to get a lot of attention.
AKIKO FUJITA: Yeah, I mean, more than 90% of NBA players have received at least one dose of the vaccine. So we're talking about a very vocal minority, but obviously, to your point, somebody like Kyrie Irving getting a lot of attention because the Brooklyn Nets are among the favorites to win a championship. If he can't play in his home state and his home arena, then what happens?
But, you know, you mentioned New York. New York certainly not the only one. The same goes for San Francisco in Chase Center there. You've got Andrew Wiggins from the Golden State Warriors calling for a religious exemption, which was then denied. And then you've got somebody like Bradley Beal with the Wizards, saying that he got COVID, it wasn't so bad. So why should he go out and get the vaccine now?
It's-- you know, it's probably emblematic of a larger debate that's happening with those who have been holdouts, whether because of hesitation or because they're completely anti-vaccine. But it's going to be interesting to see how this is handled. I mean, you've got people in New York who are saying, look, if we have to show proof of vaccine to go into an enclosed space, whether that's a restaurant or a sports arena, players have to do the same.
ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, it's pretty tricky here, too, because, you know, it sounds like the NBA wanted to do what the NFL did-- be a little bit stricter to push its players to really go that far and mandating vaccines. But, you know, the player's union pretty strong and arguably stronger in the NBA to push back against that.
Other stars weighing in on this as well. We heard from LeBron James when it comes to whether or not it should still be a personal choice to get vaccinated. Take a listen to what he had to say.
LEBRON JAMES: I think everyone has their own choice to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family and things of that nature. I know that I was very skepticism about it all. But after doing my research and things of that nature, I felt like it was best suited for not only me, but for my family and for my friends. And, you know, and that's why I decided to do it, so. But as far as-- I don't-- you guys should know me. Anything that I talk about, I don't talk about other people and what they should do.
ZACK GUZMAN: So there you go. It's interesting to see it all play out here, Akiko, because it's, you know-- the NFL went through the same thing, really putting players in their personal choices, whether or not you won't put that ahead of the team. We're seeing the same thing play out now in the NBA. And I think there are going to be those outliers who are going to have to deal with the consequences.
AKIKO FUJITA: Yeah, and in some cases, that could have implications for how the team does if you've got a star that's not able to play a majority of the games at home. But we should mention because we're showing LeBron, the Lakers, Rob Pelinka there has said that they'll be 100% vaccinated by the beginning of the NBA season.
So there's a lot of teams that are coming to that point. You've just got some outliers. And we'll see where these negotiations fall with the Players Association. Because at the end of the day, you know, they've got to abide by the rules in place in the cities that they play in.
