Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Slams LeBron James for ‘Uninformed’ Covid Meme: He ‘Encouraged Vaccine Hesitancy’
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fired back at LeBron James on Monday after the current Lakers superstar seemed to compare Covid with the flu and a common cold.
Last Friday, James shared a meme on Instagram featuring three identical-appearing Spider-Man characters pointing at each other while garnering the labels Covid, cold and flu — implying that there is no difference between the three. James captioned the meme with “help me out folks.”
View this post on Instagram
Abdul-Jabbar has been very outspoken about the dangers of the global pandemic and the need for influential people to like James to advocate getting vaccinated.
“The meme’s implication is that LeBron doesn’t understand the difference among these three illnesses, even after all the information that’s been presented in the press,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote on his Substack. “Well, since he asked, let me help him out by explaining the difference—and how knowing that difference might save lives, especially in the Black community.”
“As is evident by some of the comments that cheer LeBron’s post, he’s given support to those not getting vaccinated, which makes the situation for all of worse by postponing our health and economic recovery,” Abdul-Jabbar continued. “The CDC reports that those who are unvaccinated are 9 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital and 14 times more likely to die from COVID than those vaccinated. The number rises to 20 time more likely when compared to someone who’s gotten a booster shot. By posting the uninformed meme, LeBron has encouraged vaccine hesitancy which puts lives and livelihoods at risk.”
In October, the basketball Hall-of-Famer and activist criticized James for acknowledging he got vaccinated, but failing to promote or endorse the jab for others. Instead, James reiterated that the decision to get vaccinated is a personal choice.
Like Abdul-Jabbar, James has been outspoken on social and racial issues throughout his NBA career. Unlike Abdul-Jabbar, James has not placed preaching the dangers of Covid on the list of issues that are important to him.
“While LeBron is a necessary and dynamic voice critical of police brutality against the Black community, he needs to be the same necessary and dynamic advocate with vaccines, which could save thousands of Black lives right now,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “The racism is just as real—and just as lethal—in both cases.”
