Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took some verbal jabs courtesy of the hosts of ABC’s The View for not urging people to get the vaccine.
The show’s five co-hosts called on the four-time NBA champion to use his position to convince his fans and followers to get vaccinated.
“Well, it’s kind of funny because if it’s not your job, that means that some of those folks that would be coming to see you play are not going to come see you play because they can’t get in,” said co-host Whoopi Goldberg.
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James will not advocate for others to get the vaccine because it’s not up to him, according to comments he made at a recent press conference.
“Everyone has their own choice to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family,” said James, who is vaccinated.
The 17-time all-star was skeptical about the vaccine at first but said getting vaccinated was the best decision for himself and his family.
When it comes to other people making up their minds about whether to get vaccinated, he said it is not his place to influence others’ decisions.
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— The View (@TheView) September 30, 2021
“But as far as speaking for everybody and their individualities [sic] and things they want to do … that’s not my job,” James said.
The co-hosts of The View disagreed.
“It’s not your job to tell people what to do, but you can suggest that you’ve figured out nobody grew a second head or a tail when they got the shot,” Goldberg said. “I mean, I don’t know why that would be hard for folks.”
Co-host Ana Navarro echoed Goldberg.
“You have a responsibility to those people that made you share what you know and to try to get them to do the right thing,” she said. “I’m sorry, I wish we had private lives. We don’t. We are public people with a lot of privileges, and that’s the responsibility that comes along with it.”
The other co-hosts also told James why his choice not to instruct people on how he was wrong.
Not taking this “responsibility” could damage his authority to advocate on other issues if he fails to do so, Goldberg added.
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“If you don’t want to speak out, remember you said that because it’s going to come back and bite you in the behind when you want to talk about issues that are bothering you,” she said. “Just know that people are going to come back and say, ‘Well, why are you talking now?'”
