NBA legend Charles Barkley told CNBC in an article published Wednesday that he is vaccinated and feels that all Americans should follow suit, reports the Associated Press.
“Everybody should be vaccinated. Period,” he said, adding, “The only people who are not vaccinated are just aholes.”
The 58-year-old “Inside the NBA” analyst said he believes that all sports leagues should have vaccine mandates.
“Can you imagine if one of these guys that are not vaccinated, if they get one of these players’ kids, wives, girlfriends, moms and dads sick and they die over some unnecessary conspiracy bullsh*t,” Barkley said. “I think that would be tragic.”`
The NBA Hall of Famer said professional athletes should have to follow the same kinds of rules that average people at ordinary jobs have to follow.
“There’s sht you can’t do at work and there’s sht that you have to do at work,” he said. “So every workplace has rules and I think one of the rules [should be] that guys have to be vaccinated.”
Barkley is certainly not the only personality in the sports world to publicly advocate for vaccines.
NFL quarterback Baker Mayfield said last week that professional athletes can greatly benefit from getting their shots.
“It’s a competitive advantage, but it’s also way more than that,” the 26-year-old athlete told reporters from his youth football camp Wednesday. “It’s about safety and just general health and well-being of human life.”
Up to 80 percent of NFL players, 90 percent of NBA players and 85 percent of MLB players have reportedly had at least one shot. Yet some coaches and players have publicly condemned vaccinations and refuse to get them.
