Izzo: Criticisms of healthcare workers ‘makes me sick’
EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo got a call from a worker in a local hospital that set him off.
And the Michigan State coach used his postgame news conference after his team’s 80-64 win over Penn State on Saturday afternoon to chastise people who are becoming hostile toward healthcare workers with the resurgent number of cases in the state.
Here is what Izzo said:
“I have a lot of friends that are doctors and nurses, and I’m really ticked off at our country a little bit. Whether you choose to get vaccinated or not is your choice. I’m gonna beg people to get vaccinated because it’s what I believe. But it’s not just me — it’s the scientific knowledge, it’s the doctors, it’s the nurses, it’s everybody. And the people that are getting it that are vaccinated have such a better chance to survive everything and stay out of the hospitals.
“Our hospitals are overwhelmed again. And for the first time last week, I had some friends of mine, I had some people say to me, ‘People are so idiotic. They’re blaming the doctors and the nurses.’ So if you don’t get it (the COVID vaccine), that’s your business. But these are people that were our heroes, they were our heroes for a year. And now because people, in my humble opinion, don’t get vaccinated and let down your guard a little bit, and our hospitals in the state of Michigan are in trouble again. And then that’s OK if that’s what you want to do. But for the people out there condemning our doctors and nurses and the first responders makes me sick. It really bothers me. So you have your own decision on what you want to do, that’s your business. But I’ll tell you one thing, if anybody’s that ignorant that they’re condemning our doctors, nurses, first responders — all the people that are giving their frickin’ life, and now we can’t even get operations, we can’t do things because these hospitals are overwhelmed again — shame on you.
“So take your shots at me. It doesn’t bother me. I’m not telling you that you have to — who’s Tom Izzo to tell you to go get vaccinated? That’s your business. But please, from the bottom my heart, appreciate the people. Those nurses that get paid little and put their life on the line every day. And the doctors, please don’t forget we love them, we care about them, we appreciate them. What they’ve done for us, while most of us were sitting home not working, and they were going in every day. And I hear that stuff out in our community? It makes me sick. So let the fight start, let it begin. Do what you want with your vaccinations. But please, appreciate the people that have done so much for us.”
Izzo has been a vocal proponent of health safety throughout the nearly two years of the pandemic, from promoting wearing masks early to pushing for the public to get vaccinated in September. He overcame a bout of COVID-19 in November last year before the start of the 2020-21 season.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.