Kyrie Irving is one of the best point guards in today's National Basketball Association. Kyrie Irving was born on March 23, 1992 in Melbourne, Australia. He was named the Rookie of the Year after being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Just like everything else all professional sports have made it mandatory to get the Covid vaccine. This is something that I do not agree with because I feel that people should be able to choose whether or not they want the vaccine or not, without getting forced to do so. People that have gotten the vaccine are still getting Covid, so to me there's really no point in getting the vaccine. Kyrie Irving is one of the only professional athletes to not get the vaccine, so he is being punished by not being able to participate in practice or games. This has taken away a lot from the NBA star because he's not getting to play the game he loves because of a vaccine that should not be mandatory to get. He's facing a lot of backlash from people one social media, trying to portray him as a problem. No workplace should be able to force people to get the the vaccine. The Flu is as or not even more dangerous than Covid, and it is not mandatory to get the flu shot every year. The NBA should side with Kyrie Irving so that he will be able to play the game he loves to play.
While I do think it is very important to get the vaccine to protect your own health and the health of others, I do not think it is fair to force anyone to do something in order to keep their job. I worry that denying him the opportunity due to his beliefs about the vaccine may make it more normal to deny people opportunities due to other beliefs or political ideas. Instead, athletes who refuse the vaccine should be given alternatives, such as very frequent COVID testing.
I like that you chose to write about this topic because it is so relevant in the sports world today. As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I was very frustrated when Amari Cooper tested positive for COVID after not getting the vaccine and had to miss some really important games. While I agree with you that it should be the athlete’s choice to get the vaccine or not, they also need to understand that by not getting it they are negatively impacting their team, their fans, and their career.
I think the pandemic has brought about a lot of questions about independent freedoms vs societal obligations. The reason I think it is fair Kyrie is not allowed to play is because the NBA's status as a private organization, but the size of these organizations makes them monopolies in a market. I will say that I do respect Kyrie's commitment to his values despite the consequence.
This is an interesting take on Kyrie Irving's suspension from the NBA due to him being anti-vax. While you make a good point that people who get vaccinated still get COVID, studies and data have shown that it's a lot less severe in terms of symptoms. Hence, the decline in death rates and reopening of public spaces around the world since the conception of vaccines. Given Kyrie's professional career in a close contact sport, with lots of bodily fluid being passed around, it's a high risk situation for him to not get vaccinated.
I definitely agree that people have the right to choose whether they want the vaccine or not. However, at the same time, those who choose not to should understand that they are more likely to get COVID, inherently being more likely to transfer it to others. Thus, in my opinion, it makes sense that the NBA player has been taken away from participating in practices and games because if he gives the other players COVID, then the whole team would not be able to play for a certain amount of time.