Media Day and the first few days of training camp have been some of the more explosive days around the NBA. While the Kawhi Leonard was affirming his decision to stay with the LA Clippers and coach Tyronn Lue was expressing his excitement to be back, players around the league were making all the headlines.
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving was not allowed into the Brooklyn Nets' Barclays Center due city-wide mandates. He had his media availability done over Zoom from his home before traveling with the team to San Diego for camp.
Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal had some controversial comments about the vaccine and why people are still able to contract the coronavirus after being inoculated.
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins' refusal to talk about his vaccination status was met with strong resistance from Bay Area media members.
On Wednesday, the NBA released a statement, saying, “Any player who elects not to comply with local vaccination mandates will not be paid for games that he misses.”
Over the last few days, the city of Los Angeles has been mulling a vaccine mandate to go to restaurants, bars, and any kind of events. While there hasn't been anything finalized yet, it did bring up some questions regarding the LA Clippers.
Were Kawhi Leonard and Paul George vaccinated? Were there any concerns about a possible mandate causing Clippers players to miss time?
Tyronn Lue, who met with members of the media on Day 2 of training camp, was asked about how much he's watching things develop with regards to COVID-19 vaccination mandates.”
“Well, our guys are vaccinated, so we're just trying to do whatever the league tells us to do. We try to abide by the rules and kind of go from there. We talked about it last year, just being able to adapt and do what we need to do to play the game that we love. Certain players and certain people have got different beliefs, and I respect those beliefs. Our guys are fully vaccinated so I respect their beliefs as well.”
When asked to confirm, again, that his team was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Lue simply said, ‘yes.'
“Our guys are vaccinated… Certain players and certain people have got different beliefs, and I respect those beliefs. Our guys are fully vaccinated so I respect their beliefs as well.”
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue says his team is fully vaxxed. pic.twitter.com/PmGP2YrAeu
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 29, 2021
This comes a day after the Los Angeles Lakers held their Media Day and announced that they as a team were 100 percent vaccinated. That included LeBron James, who has previously been hesitant about receiving the shot.
“I think everyone has they own choice, to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family and things of that nature,” James said. “I know that I was very (skeptical) about it all but after doing my research. I felt like it was best suited for not only me but for my family and my friends.”
The Clippers are able to proceed, business as usual, without having to be concerned about any potential mandates being handed down in the city of Los Angeles.
As of right now, Staples Center is expected to require either a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of scheduled game time or proof of vaccination to attend a Clippers, Lakers, or Kings game this season. That could change if LA wants to require vaccines, but that is not the case yet.
While the Clippers will tip off their preseason taking on the Denver Nuggets at home on October 4th, Kawhi Leonard will not play as he rehabs the offseason surgery he had on his partially torn right ACL.
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