LeBron James caused a bit of a stir earlier this year when he decided to sidestep questions about taking the COVID vaccine. As someone who understands the power of the positions he takes on things, James opting to not advocate for taking one of the vaccines designed to help end the ongoing pandemic raised eyebrows, particularly because he said he wanted to keep his thoughts on the matter private. Plenty of folks, like ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, called James out over this.
With vaccines — and, perhaps more accurately, the hesitancy that a number of players have over taking it — being a major talking point on Monday as the first group of teams went through media day in the lead-up to the 2021-22 NBA season, James was unsurprisingly asked about whether or not he received one. He opted to no longe remain private, saying that he did research and eventually decided getting it was the best thing for himself and for his family.
LeBron says he was very skeptical of the vaccine but after doing his research decided it was the right choice "not only for my family and for my friends, that's why I decided to do it."
— Bill Oram (@billoram) September 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1442901437860642816
James went on to say that he does not want to be a public advocate for the vaccine, and that he wants people to make their own choices.
LeBron on being vaccinated: “I think everyone has their own choice to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family.” LeBron said he was very skeptical about the vaccine, did some research, and decided it was OK. He does not want to be a public advocate for it.
— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) September 28, 2021
Lakers' LeBron James, who confirmed that he is vaccinated, explains his hands-off approach to vaccine advocacy: "That's not my job." pic.twitter.com/QNOG4wzGvr
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 28, 2021
Of course, James has enough clout that his saying he got the vaccine might be all the advocacy he needs to do to convince people to get it. As for the Lakers as a whole, Frank Vogel said on Tuesday that the team is on track to be 100 percent vaccinated by the time the season begins.
Frank Vogel says it's "huge" that the Lakers are on track to be 100 percent vaccinated and lower their risk of COVID-19 interruptions, and notes that other teams are likely to be dealing with those issues. "I'm super proud of our guys for making that commitment."
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) September 28, 2021
