Thoughts on Adam Silver's Vaccine Comments?
Thoughts on Adam Silver's Vaccine Comments?
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00:00ADAM SILVER FLOATED THE IDEA OF GETTING NBA PLAYERS VACCINATED AS SORT OF A PSA ON A VIRTUAL
00:07CONFERENCE WITH SPORTACO.
00:08FOR MORE, I'M JOINED NOW BY OUR BEN PICKMAN AND THE FANTASY EXEC, CORY PARSON.
00:13He specifically mentioned high-profile African-Americans being vaccinated due to the disparate impact
00:20that COVID has had on that community.
00:22And, guys, I think when people hear this, their first reaction is going to be, well,
00:26it's in the best interest of the league for this to happen.
00:29And I would agree with that, obviously.
00:32But if you're not keeping the – if the ramped-up of the doses is there, where you're not keeping
00:38it away from essential workers or people with preexisting conditions, I don't hate the
00:43idea of famous people doing it to show that the vaccine is safe, so that we can ultimately
00:49get out of this thing.
00:50Absolutely.
00:51And I think you made the key point.
00:52He's not actually – or not necessarily saying that NBA players are going to skip
00:55the line, so to speak, and get vaccines in the coming days or weeks ahead of people who
01:00might need it or in phases that are prioritized at this point.
01:04But he is saying that there is some value in having NBA players get it.
01:06And I think he's certainly right, and that's certainly a reasonable position to take, right?
01:10We see the NBA on a lot of issues, and we see professional athletes and leagues on a
01:14lot of issues orchestrate these campaigns and try to raise awareness for different causes.
01:18And I see this one being no different, right?
01:21We saw the NBA talk about mask-wearing, say, or showing proper hygiene amid the pandemic.
01:26And I would see – I assume we're going to see something similar down the road, whether
01:30it's in the coming months or a little bit beyond, about getting the vaccine and still
01:34staying safe afterwards amid the COVID pandemic as we try to combat it.
01:38So I do think this is a pretty reasonable position to take.
01:41And as long as NBA players, in my estimation, are not jumping the line and skipping phases,
01:45I do think it's pretty reasonable.
01:47We do look to a lot of figures for advice.
01:49And so I think this would just be another example of that.
01:51So, Corey, there will be people who are cynical about it and say, you know, it's all based
01:56on the selfishness of wanting the league to pursue so they can not have stoppages and
02:02make sure that they're getting their money.
02:04I think people can look at it a number of different ways, to be honest with you, Robin.
02:07And you know, I spent a lot of time this summer saying the words that I think that Adam Silver
02:11was the most brilliant and sharpest guy in sports.
02:14This right here is not one of those occasions, because I look at this one right here kind
02:17of funny.
02:18First of all, is the NBA PA going to allow them to mandate this?
02:21That's something that they're going to have to deal with inside of the league.
02:23And then when you look at why I think they possibly could be doing this, it's because
02:26you have superstar black male athletes saying, OK, well, we'll line up and we'll take it.
02:30And they're using this as a, I don't want to say a ploy, but they're using this to kind
02:33of persuade the black community to go ahead and be out there and get vaccinated.
02:38Why do they not think that these people are smart enough to make these decisions and do
02:41the research for themselves and their families?
02:43So I think that that right there can be a little bit of a problem.
02:45We don't hear about the NHL doing this, the PGA, for real, not even the WNBA is yet to
02:50be determined what they're going to do.
02:51So I think that this thing right here is something that I am not in agreement with David Stern.
02:56I mean, excuse me, not God bless his soul.
02:57I'm not in agreement with Adam Silverwood.
02:59But I mean, when he said PSA, that's a public service announcement, right?
03:03Obviously, he specifically referenced the black community.
03:06But this is something that, you know, in order for the pandemic to be over, people are going
03:11to have to get vaccinated.
03:13And the science is behind the vaccination.
03:15So that's, I think, the ultimate message that he would be trying to send or the league
03:20would be trying to send.
03:21As far as players who don't want to get it, I think they'd have to, you know, establish
03:24different protocols for those players.
03:27But I think the overall message would be, you know, we've got to get people vaccinated
03:31to get through.