Draymond Green Says He’d Rather Mind His Business Than Comment On Vaccines
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins is in jeopardy of missing games due to the Bay Area's vaccination mandate for indoor venues. NBA teams in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York will be subject to vaccination laws, though the league itself has not imposed a mandate.
An array of players now have a narrowing window of time to get vaccinated as the season tips off on Oct. 19, and the sports media is beginning to pressure unvaccinated players into getting the vaccine, even though they could still be sidelined with a case of COVID. Wiggins is on the COVID hot seat as the team awaits approval on a religious exemption for him to continue the season unvaccinated.
In the meantime, teammate and team co-leader Draymond Green is staying out of Wiggins' business and respecting his decision to remain unvaccinated. In fact, Green is even calling out the media for promoting a misleading narrative. Green spoke with ESPN and was asked for his insight on Wiggins' decision.
"That would be like Andrew — who everyone knows recently just had a kid maybe five months or so ago now — that would be like me telling him, 'Yo, your wife is going into labor. How dare you leave this team and not go tend to your wife?' That's something that's personal to him. That's something that's health-related. That's something that's personal to his family. This is no different."
Green gave a nod to the politicization of labeling people as the vaxxed and unvaxxed. "When you make something so political, not everyone will be into the politics,” added Green. “You can also turn those people off. I think there is something to be said for people's concern for something that is pressed so hard. Like, why are you pressing so hard?"
As reported by OutKick's Gary Sheffield, Jr., Wiggins is not relenting to the external pressures from the media and league.
“I’m just going to keep all of that private right now,” commented Wiggins, when asked about potentially getting vaccinated to be allowed at home games in Oakland. “I’m taking it day by day. My back is definitely against the wall, but I’m just going to fight for what I believe.”
As of Sept. 30, the AP has confirmed that 95 percent of players in the NBA have been vaccinated.
Follow along on Twitter: @AlejandroAveela