On September 27, teams around the NBA held their media days. And from coast to coast, not a single player asked about the COVID-19 vaccine supported the idea that vaccination should be mandatory for NBA players. Players like Marcus Smart, who had one of the league’s first COVID-19 infections, didn’t speak in favor of mass vaccinations. Karl-Anthony Towns, who has lost seven family members including his mom to COVID-19, has seemingly softened a stance he expressed two weeks ago in a sarcastic tweet, saying at the Timberwolves’ Media Day that “everyone has their own beliefs,” before adding, “I’m okay with you not wanting to do it.
A different kind of vaccine hesitancy
