Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac, still recuperating from his rash of injuries, suddenly found himself on the spotlight anew because of his adamant refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Isaac, Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets, Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors are just some of the high-profile NBA players who have rejected inoculation the way people reject the finale of Game of Thrones.
Their stance has been clowned by many these days. But Isaac, who said choosing to get vaccinated or not is the choice of each person, got an unusual supporter. Not from the NBA, but from the United States Senate in the form of Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who took to Twitter to express his support for Isaac.
The 23-year-old Isaac has been very vocal about his refusal to get immunized against COVID-19, similar to his divergent stance against kneeling during the national anthem in the NBA Bubble two seasons ago. He has received heavy flak for that, but the former Florida State standout stuck with his principles.
Isaac is still working his way back with the Magic after missing all of last season because of a slew of injuries. In his four seasons in the NBA, he's only played in a grand total of 136 games, averaging 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds.
If he remains unvaccinated, Jonathan Isaac is expected to miss even more games as several cities have already imposed mandates on vaccination.