Source: Matthew Stockman / Getty
This news should not come as a surprise to anyone, given Michael PorterJr.’s history.
Michael Porter Jr. should be excited about the upcoming 2021-22 season. He just signed a $207 million max extension, and he is slowly becoming a star in the league. But Porter Jr. is not of the NBA’s “biggest superstars” yet despite what TMZ’s tweet says. Porter Jr. is proving to be a big knucklehead when it comes to being responsible during the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
We should be giving the 90% of NBA superstars like Karl-Anthony Towns, Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony props for doing the right thing and getting vaccinated. But it’s the 10% of the unvaccinated pro hoopers who are still managing to give the NBA an unnecessary black eye. During the Denver Nuggets’ media day, Michael Porter Jr. revealed that he would not take the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Denver Post reports that Porter Jr. shared he caught COVID-19 twice, and is not “comfortable” with being vaccinated. He claims he’s more “worried” about the reaction he will have from the COVID-19 vaccines instead of worrying about how the novel virus doctors are still learning how to treat that could have lasting effects on his body.
“For me, I had COVID twice, I saw how my body reacted, and although the chances are slim, with the vaccine, there’s a chance you could have a bad reaction to it. For me, I don’t feel comfortable.”
Bruh.
His latest stance falls in line with his previous thinking. During the height of the pandemic, Porter Jr. got into trouble for sharing COVID-19 conspiracy theories on Snapchat while in the NBA bubble claiming the virus is a tool being used for “population control.”
“Personally, I think that the coronavirus is being used obviously for a bigger agenda. It’s being used for population control in just terms of being able to control the masses of people. Because of this virus, the whole world is being controlled. You’re required to wear masks, and who knows what’ll happen when this vaccine comes out. You might have to have the vaccine in order to travel. That’d be crazy.”
He also claimed that he has never been vaccinated, but that is just ridiculous because, in order to attend the University of Missouri, where Porter hooped collegiately, you have to comply with the university’s “two-dose MMR Immunization Policy.” Every student has to be vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella, so he’s either out here lying or walking around with fake immunization records.
In an opinion piece shared on the Denver Post, sports columnist Mike Kiszla writes about Porter Jr.s anti-vaccine stance:
“Michael Porter Jr can shoot that rock. No doubt about it. But he can be rock-headed and stubborn to the point where it’s detrimental to Denver’s pursuit of a championship.”
“I will defend MPJ’s right to be a rebel that doubts science and places individual freedom over team success, not to mention the health of Nuggets players and staff.”
“But I’m far less certain the Nuggets should have rewarded Porter’s self-centered stupidity with a freshly printed max contract that could be worth $207 million. That’s serious moola for a player whose status could be in jeopardy for Denver’s games in San Francisco, New York, Toronto or any other city that might require vaccination as a prerequisite to take the court, rather than roll up his sleeve and take a shot in the arm for the team.”
It will be interesting to see how this situation will play out for Porter Jr. The NBA just announced that all players who miss games due to being unvaccinated will not get paid. Whether this stance will push players to get vaccinated we have to wait and see.
As expected, Twitter had been clowning Michael Porter Jr. and deservingly so. You can peep those reactions in the gallery below.
Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty
No Surprise: COVID-19 Conspiracy Theorist Michael Porter Jr. Says He Is Not Getting Vaccinated was originally published on cassiuslife.com
