LeBron James has no problem using his platform to speak out on many divisive political issues. Encouraging his fans to get vaccinated against coronavirus is not one of them.
The Los Angeles Lakers small forward recently admitted that he was initially hesitant about getting the vaccine. However, he looked into it and decided it was the right move. And even though James knows that the vaccine is good and it saves lives, he won’t attempt to influence anyone else’s opinion on this one.
“We’re talking about individuals’ bodies,” he told reporters. “We’re not talking about something that’s political or racism or police brutality, things of that nature. We’re talking about people’s bodies and well-being. So I don’t feel like, for me personally, that I should get involved in what other people should do for their bodies and their livelihoods.”
What an interesting perspective. If he doesn’t want to tell people what they can and can’t do with their bodies, he might support lowering the drinking and smoking ages to 18 and legalizing heroin.
The idea that people shouldn’t care what others do with their bodies denies how our government works. Except for some hardcore libertarians, almost no one believes this “my body, my choice” mantra. It’s a hollow pro-choice slogan devoid of any critical thinking. It professes apathy toward unborn children being killed in abortions, as well as the poor, sick, and elderly being killed via physician-assisted suicide.
The coronavirus vaccine works. It helps prevent the virus from spreading, mitigates the symptoms of the virus, and prevents many people from dying. It’s not eradicating the virus, but the straw man arguments on the matter, especially from some conservatives and Republicans, are unfortunate. Some news report of someone getting infected doesn’t mean the vaccine doesn’t work. The Right should let the rich white liberals who shop at Whole Foods go back to being the face of the anti-vax movement.
If James wants to help people and save lives, he can tell people to get vaccinated — and some people will likely listen. He doesn’t have to say what he thinks the government should do about the pandemic or take any position on mask or vaccine mandates, but it would improve public health if more people got the jab. Doing this would cost James nothing, and it would help people.
It would be especially meaningful from James because the NBA has many black fans and players. The vaccination rate among blacks under 50 years old in Los Angeles County is below 50%, according to the Los Angeles Times.
This is the same LeBron James who felt the need to criticize former President Donald Trump, criticize policing, and offer support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Yet, when it comes to the human rights abuses of the Chinese government, James chose to shut up and dribble, as Laura Ingraham once told him to do when it comes to Trump. China has people in concentration camps — any sane person should criticize the country for that.
It would be one thing if James wasn’t so outspoken already. But he speaks out on topics he doesn’t need to speak out about. James has decided this is who he wants to be. The least he could do is state the obvious for people who need to hear it.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts. He is also a freelance writer who has been published in USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other outlets.
