The NBA All-Star game takes place Sunday night despite receiving some mixed feelings from players around the league. Paul George being one of the more vocal athletes about playing the All-Star game during a pandemic, shared his opinions amid the news of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons getting ruled out for the contest.
Back in February, Paul George made it known that he didn't like the idea of playing an All-Star game during a pandemic. He was fined for having a teammate over to his house, per Tomer Azarly. And yet, the NBA is mixing players from around the league for a one-night event before revamping the regular season.
"I'm not a fan of it. I don't think, in the middle of a pandemic, it's something that needs to be had. I got fined for spending time with a teammate, for having a teammate over, yet we're having this All-Star Game."
Paul George on having the All-Star Game. #Clippers pic.twitter.com/rW8bxowFTz
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 24, 2021
It's become an issue the players are forced to deal with. As previously mentioned, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have both been ruled out for the All-Star game after the pair had a visit with a Philadelphia barber who previously tested positive for COVID-19, as reported earlier by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
After doing an amazing job creating the NBA Bubble last year, it seems Adam Silver has put the NBA in a sticky situation as he tried to jam All-Star weekend into one night. The idea made sense on paper. However, the fact that multiple players around the league will be mingling together throughout the evening doesn't quite back up the league's initiative in utilizing safe COVID-19 protocols.
Even so, there is risk in each game and professional leagues from around the world have done a relatively good job in playing through the pandemic. We'll see what happens after the All-Star weekend, as there is potential for a spike in cases within the NBA after Sunday.
Follow Us
Subscribe