Ouch! Not Taking One for the Team?
LeBron James could make a radical statement without saying a word.
With quarantine restrictions lifting, the NBA is offering “extended benefits” to players vaccinated against the coronavirus.
That makes Atlanta a team with benefits, as 14 players and 22 staffers stepped up for their first dose. New Orleans is the second team to confirm they’ve gotten the needle.
Hawks and Pelicans (also Portland and LA, as of press time) can now visit with family and friends, skip daily testing, have visitors at team hotels, and enjoy outdoor dining at home and on the road.
They won’t miss game time behind contact tracing, like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons who were restricted from the All-Star game after visiting a barber who tested positive.
Outside the bubble, folks are gearing up to do things they haven’t done in months. Like eating a meal they didn’t cook…. in a real restaurant. Or sitting in the stands of a Lakers game…. inside.
Which is why I wish LeBron would publicly get the vaccine. He hasn’t changed his mind since declaring it a “private” matter a few weeks back. Of course it’s a free country; he can do as he pleases. And having opinions about what people who aren’t your kids should do, is a zero sum game. That’s why hopes are free.
He should do it live from Staples Center, in front of Magic’s statue. Do it like Elvis did, on national TV. It’d make for much better stunting than that other ‘Decision.’
Gather a group of celebrity friends. Nano influencers get together and have a televised poke party. Do it for the Gram.
People listen to celebrities and emulate their actions. It’s a combination of influence, norming (of expected and approved behaviors) and “vivid examples” that can encourage people to take action, says a Scientific American article on behaviour and society.
When the virus hit in 2020, I had just received an admit to grad school at USC.
I went to a couple of on-campus events and had another scheduled. But on March 11 at Cal State Dominguez Hills, I heard whispers all around of an emergency executive meeting. That campus shut down three days later.
That night I watched as an NBA game was called, pre-tip off. Thunder center Rudy Gobert was positive for Covid-19. It got real when Coachella was canceled.
On March 19 came the statewide stay at home order, and the countdown started. You know the one. It’ll be over by summer. Well, for sure by fall, right? My classes start then!
So, like everyone else, I masked up. I barely mingled and after celebrating Juneteenth and July 4th, I self-quarantined my household for two weeks.
Getting to the right time and headspace to do my Masters at USC had been a life’s mission. The campus is 15 minutes from home. I’m ready and this pandemic isn’t going to win me.
Which is why I decided to get fully vaccinated by September.
There’s a clinical trials circuit. If you’re an adult, with no serious health conditions and no meds, who doesn’t drink, smoke or otherwise self-medicate, they want you. Often.
So when Pfizer calls, my answer is, Hell, yeah! I’m not scary — not inclined to conspiracy-laden hype, and six people I know have been ill, two of them critically. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Clinical trials also pay a couple hundred bucks.
The hardest part was sitting in a cold medical facility with a bunch of strangers in masks, for the initial screening. A physical, body fluids, blood work. One injection mid-August, the second Sept 1.
Easy peasy. And no symptoms, so my girlfriends teased that it was probably salt water. The other hard part was not knowing for 5 months. Clinical trials are blind, but in February the call came. You’ve received the vaccine.
By now, we’ve gotten used to working from home. I’m at USC, in my bedroom. As Los Angeles opens up, everyone’s counting on summer and fall being normal. And a holiday season with family.
One-quarter of all Americans have received at least a first dose of vaccine. And 45.9 million are fully vaccinated. Enough doses have been distributed to cover half of the 332 million of us.
But only 10, 12 and 14 percent of the Hispanic, Black and Asian communities, respectively, have had shots. Two senior groups, between age 65 and 74, and those over 75, have the highest rates of vaccine coverage, 65 and 69 percent respectively.
But the news is still grim. 1,328 people became statistics yesterday, March 26. That’s a major decrease after the savage spike in deaths in January and February, but still, it ain’t a celebration. And world-wide, the daily mortality rate hit 12,118. Even controlling for mis-diagnosis and multiple life-threatening conditions, that’s a ghastly toll.
Lebron James has global appeal, and a global platform. His Uninterrupted website is a curation of first person multimedia stories, with direct links to social media.
It’s a next-level use of digital space. The landing page features branded merch, and that’s not bad — the easiest way to connect to a brand is by wearing it.
But, I was surprised at the spiritual tone of the About page. Voices riff on soaring themes of inspiration, empowerment, determination and finding your voice. James says,“When I decided I was gonna start speaking up, my whole mindset was, it’s not about me.”
I admit, shots aren’t cool. And the league hasn’t mandated them. I suppose we’ll know anyway, when we see players start to cash in on those approved benefits. But there’s too much at stake to be on the bench on this one.
So, before the metaphor is torched to ashes, take the shot, Lebron. Take the shot.
