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It appears that the NBA is having trouble finding players to promote the Coronavirus vaccine.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, several of the elite players in the league have been reluctant in accepting invitations to participate in PSA’s to help promote the vaccine to the public.
ESPN Sources: Many of the NBA’s top players are expressing apprehension about accepting invitations to participate in league-sponsored PSAs to bolster broader acceptance of the coronavirus vaccine. https://t.co/hsXznF2r2S
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 17, 2021
Via ESPN
Many of the NBA’s top players are expressing apprehension about accepting invitations to participate in league-sponsored Public Service Announcements to bolster broader acceptance of the coronavirus vaccine, sources told ESPN.
The NBA’s outreach to the agents of many of the league’s elite players — with hopes of getting stars to participate in PSAs to promote the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine — has been met with a tepid response, sources said. Player apprehension about receiving the vaccine are consistent with those that also exist in Black communities throughout the country, agents and players told ESPN.
Apparently, some players are reluctant to take the vaccine themselves while others don’t want to advocate its use to others.
Sources describe a number of factors contributing to many players’ reluctance to participate, including uncertainty about taking the vaccine themselves, reluctance to advocate its use for others and resistance to extending favors to a league amid the largely unpopular plans for an All-Star Game.
While the NBA can’t force players to promote the vaccine, Adam Silver appears to be interested in incentivizing teams and players to get take the vaccine by loosening restrictions on those who get vaccinated.
As the league works to educate players on the benefits of the vaccine, SIlver told the general managers that the process could be incentivized for teams and individuals with the loosening of quarantine and testing protocols for those vaccinated, sources said. Those would be measures consistent with CDC recommendations.
The NBA has been working to educate teams and players on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, including mandatory team seminars with Dr. LeRoy Sims, the league’s Vice President and Medical Director of the National Basketball Association (NBA).