Editorial

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Criticizes John Stockton’s Stance On The COVID-19 Vaccine, Claims He Makes Athletes Look Like ‘Dumb Jocks’

(Photo credit: TARA ZIEMBA/AFP via Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar doesn’t sound too happy with John Stockton.

Stockton recently had his Gonzaga basketball tickets suspended because he refused to wear a mask, and he’s taken a strong stance against the COVID-19 vaccine. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

“I think it’s highly recorded now, there’s 150 I believe now, it’s over 100 professional athletes dead – professional athletes – the prime of their life, dropping dead that are vaccinated, right on the pitch, right on the field, right on the court,” Stockton claimed to The Spokesman-Review.

Well, the former Los Angeles Lakers star thinks Stockton is giving athletes a bad look.

Kareem said the following during a recent appearance on CNN, according to USA Today:

I think statements like (Stockton’s) make the public look upon athletes as basically dumb jocks for trying to explain away something this is obviously a pandemic, and the best way to fight pandemics is through vaccination and testing. Those are the means by which we identify the problem and do our best to mitigate it.  I don’t understand anyone saying anything else that makes sense. It doesn’t make sense what he’s saying. This is a preventative measure that has been useful in many different circumstances.

You can watch his segment on CNN below.

Do I think Stockton is right about more than 100 athletes in prime shape dropping dead from the vaccine? No, and I have no idea why he thinks that.

There have certainly been some isolated situations with the vaccine and athletes, but I haven’t heard anything about more than 100 athletes in great shape dying. That’s just a wild claim.

Having said that, does Kareem Abdul-Jabbar really think going on CNN and ripping the former Jazz point guard is going to fix the situation?

I think the answer to that is no. When you essentially call someone a “dumb” jock, you’re going to turn a lot of people off to your position.

Why doesn’t he pick up the phone and actually call Stockton? I’m sure he could easily get in contact with him.

Let us know what you think of Stockton’s stance on vaccines and Kareem’s response in the comments below.