The NBA has just flexed its authoritarian muscles. They denied NBA player Andrew Wiggins’ religious COVID vaccine exemption.
The move by the NBA puts Wiggins in a tough position. He would no longer be able to play home games for the Golden State Warriors in their brand new Chase Center Arena located in San Francisco.
Currently, San Francisco has very strict COVID-19 mandates that force all people wanting to entering into sports events with large gatherings to be vaccinated.
Wiggins now has a choice to either be vaccinated against his will or traded. It’s highly unlikely the Warriors will allow Wiggins a roster spot without being able to play home games.
The NBA has denied Andrew Wiggins religious exemption from COVID-19 vaccination, and he will not be able to play in home games until he fulfills San Francisco's vaccination requirements, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/SRwtoDLBr6
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 25, 2021
How Can One be Exempt from Being Vaccinated with a Religious Exemption?
Several of the COVID-19 vaccines have a long history of aborted fetal tissues being used in their development; therefore, many Christians are filing out religious exemption forms. They’re also having their local pastors or clergy sign their forms in agreement with the petitioner’s stance.
Although most Christians are using religious exemptions, most denominations are silent when it comes to declaring the vaccines are harmful. The Roman Catholic Church even declared it’s morally okay to get vaccinated with a shot developed by using aborted fetal tissues.
The NBA Isn’t the Only Sports League Forcing Players to be Vaccinated
The NFL has also forced all coaches, trainers, assistants and other members of each NFL team to be vaccinated. Several NFL coaches already lost their jobs for not being vaccinated.
Players, on the other hand, still have a choice, but the choice is basically a one way ticket to being cut from the team. The NFL vaccine protocols state unvaccinated players are still allowed to play
However, they can’t share team planes or rooms. They also can’t leave their hotels during away games. Moreover, if they test positive, their team must forfeit their game. The risks of having unvaccinated players on the team have made some coaches cut unvaccinated players.
NFL New Covid-19 Rules
The @NFL has announced that players who do not get the #Covid19 vaccine will go under strict supervision and will have to follow many protocols throughout the season. Players who test positive for #Covid19 could cause their team to forfeit games. #NFLNews pic.twitter.com/ln7KqKIBFu
— Pierce Jackson (@PJSportsBiz) July 23, 2021
CBC reported that when making the final rosters decisions, Coach Urban Meyer of the Jacksonville Jaguars stated he considered each player’s vaccination status; this happened before making team cuts.
The NFLPA exposed Meyer’s comments which caused the Jaguars to defend Meyer. The sports players defended him by saying availability (and not the players’ vaccination status) was one of the key factors that Meyer took into account while making cuts.
The MLB has reported that over 85% of players on each team have been vaccinated against COVID. Earlier in the year, over six Yankees tested positive, despite being vaccinated. This goes to show, once again, that although players are being vaccinated, it’s not doing too much to protect them from contracting COVID-19.
