Will Adam Silver manage to kill two birds with one stone? While the NBA has already postponed 15 meetings, the commissioner confirmed that the league had had discussions with US health authorities to vaccinate players against Covid-19, in order also to promote the vaccine to the general public.
“There were discussions. This is something we are particularly focused on ”, explained the boss of the NBA. “In the African American community, the impact of Covid has been extremely large but now, and in a somewhat perverse way, there is enormous resistance. [aux vaccinations] in the African American community for understandable historical reasons (especially because of Tuskegee’s study on syphilis). If this resistance continues, it would be a double whammy for the black community, as the only way out of this pandemic is to get vaccinated. “
It would be a good deal for Adam Silver to be able to vaccinate NBA basketball players, in a large communication operation, which would make the rest of the season much more serene.
“Several public health officials – and this is being implemented state by state – have suggested that there would be a real public health benefit in having some high profile African Americans vaccinated to show the community as a whole that the vaccine is safe and effective “, resumes the commissioner. “At the appropriate time, whenever it is necessary, whether under the auspices of the NIH (American Institutes of Health) or CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) or, at the end of the day, as part of programs put in place by each state, we think it would be very helpful for our players to demonstrate to a larger community how important it is to get vaccinated. “
Director of the players’ union, Michele Roberts held the same speech not long ago, even though she is aware that not all players are in favor of vaccination against Covid-19.
In any case, Adam Silver is keen to make it clear that he does not want the NBA to be suspected of favoritism.
“Everything we do will be completely transparent and in collaboration with public health authorities, so there is no sense of favoritism here”, he concludes. “This will only be done if public health officials determine, all things considered, that it is the right time to vaccinate our players. “
