Unlike 100 million Americans who are bound to follow the mandatory vaccination requirement for COVID-19 after an Executive Order was issued last week, National Basketball Association (NBA) players won’t have to worry about getting their vaccine jabs soon.
This is because players of the NBA have been recently exempted from being required to take the vaccine due to its union’s refusal, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), to follow such a measure.
While most NBA staff members and referees are required to get their COVID-19 shots, there will only be “a set of strict protocols for unvaccinated players.” These protocols include “having lockers far from vaccinated teammates” and “having to eat, fly and ride buses in different sections.”
These protocols are not yet final, though, according to sources.
During early September, the NBA announced that staff and players of the Knicks, Nets and Golden State Warriors would be required to be vaccinated unless they are validly exempted due to religious and medical reasons. In August, the league also announced that “anyone who came within 15 feet of players or officials during games” would be required to have their COVID-19 jabs by October 1.
However, this does not change the fact that NBA players share the same privilege as U.S. postal workers and members of the U.S. Congress concerning mandatory vaccination.
