In 2020, the world was ravaged by COVID-19. As the virus spread and infected millions, it changed everything for a while. Places shut down, mask mandates were implemented, and people were encouraged to stay home and avoid unnecessary exposure.
Unsurprisingly, the whole crisis has become a controversy. With many people devoting their own time and livelihoods to help keep the public healthy, others have fought to protect their individual freedoms by sowing doubt and refusing to comply with protocols. Even in the NBA, there are some who fall into this category.
Very recently, Utah Jazz legend John Stockton became another name to cast his lot with the COVID conspiracy theorists. After having his season tickets suspended by his Alma Mater (Gonzaga University), he made a very bold (and baseless) claim about the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I think it’s highly recorded now, there’s 150 I believe now, it’s over 100 professional athletes dead – professional athletes – the prime of their life, dropping dead that are vaccinated, right on the pitch, right on the field, right on the court,” he said, via USA Today.
The statement has obviously put Stockton under heavy criticism, as countless individuals are joining up to tell him how grossly uninformed he is.
Among the critics is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who made headlines with his response to Stockton.
“I think statements like that make the public look upon athletes as basically dumb jocks for trying to explain away something that is obviously a pandemic and the best way to fight pandemics is through vaccination and testing … It doesn’t make sense what he’s saying.”
Kareem and Stockton didn’t really cross paths during their NBA tenures. By the time Stockton made the pros, Kareem was just four years away from retirement.
Unfortunately for Stockton, that fact did not stop the NBA’s all-time leading scorer from giving him a piece of his mind.
The truth is, nobody is really safe from the wrath of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
