Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Passionately Slams LeBron’s Failure to Endorse Covid Vaccine: ‘Could Be Deadly’

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LeBron James decided the Covid vaccine was good enough for himself and his family, but the NBA superstar refuses to endorse it for others, calling it a personal choice.

According to activist, humanitarian, and NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron’s selectivity on social issues “is just plain wrong.” Taking it a step further, Abdul-Jabbar penned an essay alerting LeBron that “his being wrong could be deadly, especially to the Black community.”

Throughout his 18-year NBA career, LeBron has been outspoken on social and political issues that are important to him. But so far, Covid vaccination status has not made the list, with LeBron stating, “we’re not talking about something that’s political, or racism, or police brutality.”

95 percent of the NBA received the jab, including LeBron, but the sport’s vocal vaccine-skeptics are creating an anti-vax narrative that has clouded the league. As the NBA’s vaccine stance morphed into a polarizing topic, Abdul-Jabbar became increasingly vocal about the need to get jabbed, for yourself and those around you.

Last week, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said he wouldn’t push other NBA players to join him in getting vaccinated. Green believed doing so would go “against everything America stands for,” a claim Abdul-Jabbar took issue with.

“On the surface, it appears that Draymond and LeBron are arguing for the American ideal of individual freedom of choice. But they offer no arguments in support of it, nor do they define the limits of when one person’s choice is harmful to the community,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote on his Substack, citing examples of mandating seat belts and education for children.

The NBA’s all-time scoring leader also pushed back on Green’s claim that when people “press hard” on issues, it can cause unvaccinated individuals to become more skeptical of their urgency.

“If I press hard against institutional racism, if I press hard against police brutality, if I press hard against recent laws making it harder for minorities to vote, if I press hard against child porn, if I press hard in support of MeToo am I automatically wrong?” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “On the contrary, the passion of those urging vaccines might suggest there’s some urgency to their opinion.”

Read Abdul-Jabbar’s full essay at Kareem.Substack.com

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