So Cov-idiotic
STARS HAVE TO SET JAB EXAMPLE
MUCH has happened in the world of sport since the pandemic changed the landscape of our lives 18 months ago.
There have been countless examples of those we’ve looked to for leadership and inspiration standing up to be counted, finding a voice in the endless debate about how best to adapt.
The platform that footballers, cricketers, golfers, tennis stars and the rest have the privilege of standing on has been used to such positive effect, it has helped restore our faith in some of the most pampered and frankly overpaid people in society.
Just last week, England and Chelsea ace Mason Mount admitted he had been double-jabbed because he didn’t want to run further risk of missing matches in the future, having done just that during the Euros after coming into close contact with Scotland rival Billy Gilmour, who subsequently tested positive for Covid.
Mount didn’t shirk the question and spoke eloquently on a subject that still divides opinion among those at the elite level of sport.
The midfielder’s attitude is in stark contrast to NBA superstar Kyrie Irving, who is refusing to have the vaccine after admitting he is “doing what is best for me”.
The Brooklyn Nets point guard insists he will not bow to pressure to be vaccinated and said: “I know the consequences here, and if it means I’m judged and demonised, that’s just what it is, that’s the role I play.”
But what sort of “role” is this, we have to ask ourselves?
Irving will now be sidelined from the NBA because current New York state rules insist all athletes in the city have to be vaccinated.
He is entitled to make his own choices but he must appreciate these conditions have been put in place for a reason. Read the room, mate. Watch the news, even.
The last sporting event I went to before lockdown was Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid at Anfield, where Jurgen Klopp looked on in disbelief when a fan tried to high-five him as he walked down the tunnel.
Even back then, before the entire horror of Covid had unfolded, Klopp knew how things had changed.
So how bad is the look when clubs like Irving’s are demanding all fans be jabbed to enter stadiums, but the stars they’ve come to see refuse to abide by those same rules?
His decision enhances the timeless narrative that some sportsmen and women remain entitled, selfish, irresponsible and uneducated.
Irving is within his rights to be stupid, because that’s what those who refuse the vaccine are being. He might be doing what he thinks is best for him but the glaring point is it’s not just about him.
It’s about his team-mates, his family and the general population he is continuing to put at risk.
He might feel invincible but there are many others who still remain vulnerable.
People with a profile like Irving have to do the right thing and get jabbed. It sets the right example to those who still wrestle with the dilemma of what to do.
The decision is a no-brainer but all the attitudes of people like Irving are wrecking all the progress we’ve made in the fight against Covid up to now. There remain a large number of Premier League players unjabbed – as of last month the number of squads in the top flight with a vaccine rate of over 50 per cent stood at just seven.
This obviously fails to set the example so sorely needed by society as a whole.
But – and it seems crass to say so while talking about a virus that has killed nearly five million people – those players and Irving are not only putting themselves and others at risk.
They are putting their livelihoods on the line as well.