LThe controversy is as old as the vaccines themselves. A mysterious prick in which you are inoculated with more than just a defense against the invading virus. From microchips with GPS locator and subliminal advertising to antennas with which to contact other planets, vaccines have always been viewed with suspicion in the face of the ignorance of what really drives that plunger. A shadow of doubt that has now been increased by the suspicion that we still have about a virus that forced an entire planet to stop short.
In that climate mixture of misinformation and fear, the anti-vaccines have found their best ally to uncover their most bizarre theories, as has been the case of NBA star Kyrie Irving. The Nets point guard, one of the league’s most unique characters and who has already made headlines with his defense of flat Earth, has begun to follow a conspiracy theorist who claims that the “secret societies” are implanting vaccines in a plot to connect black people to a computer teacher for “a plan of Satan”. A more than dubious reason to choose not to get vaccinated.
Irving’s case is the most notorious both for the significance of the character and for the reason behind his attitude. But he is not the only one. In fact, a latest study speaks of 10% of NBA players who have not been vaccinated. Or what is the same, between 40 and 50 players who have put the franchises on alert when there are barely 24 hours left until the teams’ preseason starts. Athletes who will not be able to play games in states like California or New York where the complete guideline is mandatory to be able to access closed venues for events with the public.
They are people who have voluntarily and freely chosen not to be vaccinated and they are within their rights. But so are their teams and the NBA in not giving in and letting them play, as some claim, relying on the decision-making capacity of each one. A concept that nobody denies them, but that they have to choose with all its consequences. The NBA cannot shake its pulse when enforcing state laws and you should insist that all your players get vaccinated because it is a public health issue that transcends the ideological or religious reasons of each one.
“There does not have to be room for players who are willing to risk the lives of their teammates and all the others “, assures a voice with a certain weight such as that of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. A reference for the NBA community that has alerted the league so that it does not lower its defenses against those who have not learned from what happened during the last year and a half and that they see in vaccination a charade that masks another reality.
