Celebrity athletes weigh in on COVID-19 vaccine

"Professional athletes - is there anything they don't know?"   - Homer Simpson

Actually, he said that about rock stars.  (After being lectured about eating meat, by Paul and Linda McCartney in one of my favorite "Simpsons" episodes.)  But it's easy to apply to celebrities in general.  Heck!  Look at how we are scolded by Harrison Ford and Leonardo DiCaprio - two guys who have HUGE "carbon footprints" - about our climate-warming lifestyles!

The latest Celebrity Brush-Up is about Covid-19 vaccinations.  ROCK STARS: Eric Clapton is quite vocally anti-vax.  In the other corner, Neil Young is just as vocally pro-vax, or at least vocal in his criticism of anybody who's anti-vax.  But today my focus is on LEGENDARY ATHLETES.

NBA Hall-of-Famer John Stockton has been thrown out of the Gonzaga arena (Stockton's Alma Mater, in his hometown of Spokane) for refusing to wear a mask.  I can kinda understand; the arena's policy is mask-required; how would it seem, if they looked the other way for such a high-profile guy as Stockton?

Stockton claims that over 100 professional athletes have died immediately after being vaccinated, and that "tens of thousands" of us common people have died as a result of receiving the vaccination.  (I don't think he's cited a reliable source for those numbers, but he must've gotten them from somewhere...)

Now another NBA Hall-of-Famer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is speaking up.  (It was on CNN, so you can believe it!  /sarcasm)  Kareem: "I think John’s reaction to the vaccine is extreme and not based on reality or facts... And if John could just check the facts out, he would understand that this vaccine is saving lives and preventing people from … having serious reactions to the virus."

(Source of this info: HERE.)

Personally, I'll have to take Kareem's side on this one.  I'm PRO-VACCINATION.  I got the vaccine, and the booster.  (Felt a bit "puny" for a few hours afterwards, but no other ill-effects.)  There are valid arguments on both sides of the issue, and I'm opposed to mandatory vaccinations.  But I believe there is scientific evidence in the form of post-vaccination hospitalization and death statistics, that support the efficacy of vaccinations.

If Stockton can cite his sources, I'd be very interested in learning more.  It's pretty obvious that NOBODY - even the world's greatest medical mind, Dr. Fauci (HAHAHAHAHAHA!) knows a whole lot.  My personal practices: I limit my "social exposure."  I wear a mask whenever mandated or even strongly encouraged.  (But not otherwise.)  I try to remember to wash my hands when I've been out among the rabble.

(I admire both of these guys for their athletic prowess - both were favorites of mine, back when the NBA regularly held my attention.  Stockton has generally NOT preached to the rest of us, post-retirement.  Kareem speaks up somewhat regularly, and often I find myself wishing he would NOT preach to us.)