Orlando Magic's Jonathan Isaac pushes back on NBA vaccine policy
Professional basketball player joins 'Fox News @ Night' to discuss the increased pressure for NBA players to get vaccinated
NBA players who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 and come to Toronto to play against the Raptors this season could reportedly face jail time should be caught breaking quarantine.
According to The Athletic on Wednesday, unvaccinated basketball players must stay in their designated hotels and can only leave for team activities. Canada’s Quarantine Act states that violations could result in up to six months in prison and/or $750,000 in fines. Players have to pass PCR tests before traveling to Toronto this season, per the NBA’s health and safety rules.
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The Raptors play in the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images)
It’s the latest wrench teams who have unvaccinated players are facing this season.
NBA players have come under fire for refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine – namely Kyrie Irving, Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Isaac.
Irving, the point guard for the Brooklyn Nets, asked for privacy while he got peppered with questions about his stance on the vaccine. Brooklyn doesn’t know whether he will get the shot for the season. He may have to sit out home games and practices in New York City over local mandate laws.
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Wiggins, of the Golden State Warriors, buckled down and got the vaccine, though he had been against it. Warriors coach Steve Kerr made the revelation earlier in the week.
Andrew Wiggins got the vaccine recently, Steve Kerr says. (Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports)
Isaac, of the Orlando Magic, had been skeptical about the vaccine, saying at media day he was uncomfortable getting the shot. He told "Fox News @ Night" on Monday he wasn’t anti-vax at all.
"I believe that what I’m saying is rational," he told Shannon Bream. "And it’s free…We live in the land of the free and the home of the brave and we have the opportunity and the platform to say what it is that we feel that is right. I’m taking that right to do so, not just for me, but for all of those people who feel like they don’t have a voice."
Isaac defended his stance earlier in the week. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
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According to the Associated Press, the NBA said about 95% of players were vaccinated. The players have no vaccine mandate in the league.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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