OKC Thunder: Focus on anti-vaccers looms as training camps open

With media day set to play out across the league tomorrow, the OKC Thunder will be among the 30 participants. Fans are eager to get back in action and hear from their favorite players.

OKC Thunder executive vice president and general manager, Sam Presti already got a head start speaking to the media on Friday. The front office executive touched on a number of subjects about the franchise, this iteration of the team, and specific players.

Notably, the OKC Thunder are fully vaccinated and while that might not seem like a big deal there is growing concern about the 50 to 60 players who’ve elected to not get vaccinated.

In particular, the league will be paying close attention to teams located in New York and San Francisco. Due to local government regulations surrounding coronavirus regulations, players must be vaccinated to be eligible for participation in their arenas.

Training camps begin with focus league-wide on 50-60 unvaccinated players

While the New York Knicks are fine having confirmed all their players were vaccinated, the situation is very different for the Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors.

Not every player publicly announces their vaccination status but what we do know is Kyrie Irving or the Nets and Andrew Wiggins of the Dubs are NOT vaccinated. Wiggins attempted to get a religious exemption but was denied. Unless the Canadian gets vaccinated that means he’ll have to be ineligible for all home games at the Chase Center.

The more concerning situation is in  Brooklyn where Irving may isn’t the only unvaccinated player. Writer Matt Sullivan of The Rolling Stone magazine detailed the situation revolving around Irving and up to 60 hold-outs in the NBA. The article details the bizarre situation with the Nets point guard and his acceptance of conspiracy theories.

"Irving, who serves as a vice president on the executive committee of the players’ union, recently started following and liking Instagram posts from a conspiracy theorist who claims that “secret societies” are implanting vaccines in a plot to connect Black people to a master computer for “a plan of Satan.”"

Also from the Rolling Stones article, former OKC Thunder teammate Enes Kanter and NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speak out against the anti-vaxxers.

Kanter notes there are “several Celtics” not yet vaccinated.   Abdul-Jabbar takes a strong stance stating unvaccinated players should be removed from the team. He is clearly angry about players who would use the same medical professionals they are debunking if they or a loved one needed their expertise for a health crisis.

"“There is no room for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their teammates, the staff and the fans simply because they are unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation or do the necessary research. What I find especially disingenuous about the vaccine deniers is their arrogance at disbelieving immunology and other medical experts. Yet, if their child was sick or they themselves needed emergency medical treatment, how quickly would they do exactly what those same experts told them to do?”"

The oddity within this situation for the league is while Wiggins for example couldn’t use any facilities like the gym visitors don’t appear to be under the stipulations. While the League can’t mandate vaccination for the players that’s not the case for staff. Coaches, trainers, officials, and any staff that come within 15 feet to work with players must all be vaccinated.

As camps open and preseason looms no doubt several more of the unvaccinated players will elect to get their shots. The bigger question is how the NBA will respond if breakouts happen. What if a team gets hit hard and several players have to undergo quarantining because of one individual? Or what if the OKC Thunder who are all vaccinated faces an opponent who exposes the entire team. People can still contract COVID even if vaccinated, albeit with more certainty of avoiding the worst side effects.

Ultimately, 50 to 60 players are forcing the NBA into an uncomfortable position. Hopefully, this situation gets resolved quickly and no issues arise but clearly, this situation is far from over.