The New Orleans Pelicans became the first major sports franchise in America to announce “some” of its players and staff had received a first vaccination shot.
Why not “all?” In a game where good shots mean everything, why are some players refusing to take one of the most important ones of their lives?
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last month that players would not be mandated to get vaccinated – which I think would be a tremendous idea.
If there was any league, anywhere that should have its players, coaches and staffs willing to voluntarily be vaccinated at a 100 percent level, it is the NBA.
One reason is because the NBA has been the beacon of responsibility over the last year in confronting COVID-19 while protecting its teams.
Another, and most importantly, is because most of its players are Black.
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Monday, concluded that 73 percent of Black Americans and 70 percent of white Americans surveyed said that “they either planned to get a coronavirus vaccine or had done so already.”
I guess that is good news. Here is the bad: Twenty-five percent of Black and 28 percent of white respondents said, “they did not plan to get a shot.” The Latino hesitancy rate was at 37 percent.
These numbers are too high because Black people are three times more likely to get COVID-19 and die from the virus than white people.
NBA players, and all Black professional and college athletes, should take to social media and triumphantly announce when they receive their respective vaccinations.
LeBron James said last week that he will “keep private” whether he and his family get vaccinated.
Again, why should it be secret???
James and other players can help end the rumor mongering and fear that plague the Black community.
The infamous and tragic Tuskegee Syphilis Study began in 1932. If you were born that year, you will turn 89 in 2021. That can no longer be used as an excuse to avoid a COVID-19 vaccination – or any other type of health care.
“I got the first Covid vaccine shot…I feel lucky that I had this opportunity. Can’t wait to get second shot in three weeks. If you can, get it,” Pelican forward Nicolo Melli wrote on Twitter.
“In my opinion, the more people we can encourage to get vaccinated, the better off all of us are going to be,” Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said.
It would really be helpful if young Pelican star Zion Williamson announced that he had been vaccinated. His silence worries me.
This is a perfect chance for NBA players to be health role models and get the Black community on the rebound from COVID-19.
The Reid Roundup
Yes, I am vaccinated. My wife will get her second shot in two weeks…As of Tuesday, “the majority” of Virginia’s NCAA bound men’s basketball team remained in quarantine after COVID protocol forced it to leave the ACC Tournament…The Kansas Jayhawks traveled to Indianapolis without three quarantined players after withdrawing from the Big 12 Tournament…Respected veteran Black official Ted Valentine was one of six referees eliminated from working the NCAA Tournament. One tested positive for COVID-19 and five must quarantine… UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is isolating at his home. He will miss the beginning of the women’s tournament…Major League Baseball has teamed with several historic Black churches to set up drive-through events where baseball dignitaries will hand out equipment and gear to any youth attending. The first was in Washington, D.C., and others are planned in Philadelphia, Richmond, Va., Oklahoma City and Charleston, S.C. The St. Louis Cardinals should do the same, regardless of the MLB plan…Yunus Musah, a star midfielder with soccer powerhouse Valencia announced he will play for the United States in the upcoming World Cup qualifying games, and the tournament if the team advances. He was also eligible to play for Ghana, England or Italy though dual citizenship.
Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest and is a New York Times contributor. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and appears monthly on “The Dave Glover Show” on KMOX.
