Unvaccinated Jackets coach deserved to be ousted
The subject is “Columbus in the news.” Opinions are at the end. Let’s start at the beginning.
In March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic first took a grip on this continent, the Arnold Sports Festival was quickly stripped to a bare, few competitions. The Arnold was one of the first events of great scope — in a normal year, it draws 60,000-plus per day to various sites in and around Columbus — to be canceled or postponed.
Last month, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the man himself, wrote an editorial for The Atlantic. The headline is, “Don’t Be a Schmuck. Put on a Mask.” Here’s an excerpt:
George Washington wrote, “Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country.” When we wear a mask or get a vaccine, we are serving our country and our fellow citizens.
When people call this fascism, I can’t stand it. Just a few generations ago, this country stood up to real fascism. (And yes, I know that my father was on the wrong side of that conflict.) And we didn’t win just because of our love of freedom. We won because Americans came together and did their duty.
This week, Columbus is back in the national news after the Blue Jackets terminated the contract of assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre because he refused to be vaccinated.
Lefebvre signed a three-year contract in June. The NHL alerted its teams of updated protocols in August. Lefebvre gave the Jackets his final decision in September.