NBA rejects Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins request for religious exemption from San Francisco vaccination mandate

The NBA has denied Andrew Wiggins’ request for a religious exemption from the San Francisco mandatory requirement for all attendees at indoor gatherings to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health has said that all individuals present at large indoor gatherings will have to be vaccinated against Covid-19, as NBA games fall into this category Wiggins will be ineligible to play home games unless he receives the vaccination. The Department of Public Health said “At large and mega indoor events, all patrons 12 and older must be vaccinated at this time, under the current order, if unvaccinated, they cannot enter indoor areas regardless of the reason they are unvaccinated and cannot test out of this requirement even if they have a medical or religious exemption. This same rule applies to performers and players employed by the host at large and mega indoor events who are covered by the vaccination requirements of the Health Order.”

In response to Wiggins’ request the NBA said “The NBA has reviewed and denied Andrew Wiggins' request for a religious exemption from the San Francisco Department of Public Health's order requiring COVID-19 vaccination for all participants age 12 and older at large indoor events.” The NBA is allowing unvaccinated players to play this season but they will be tested on practice, travel and game days and will only play if a negative result is returned, ESPN reported that last season almost 85% of players were vaccinated.

Similar regulations have been applied in New York meaning that New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets players will need to be vaccinated to play home games with President Joe Biden backing the requirement for sports attendees to be vaccinated. NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said “The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team. There is no room for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their team mates, the staff and the fans simply because they are unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation or do the necessary research. What I find especially disingenuous about the vaccine deniers is their arrogance at disbelieving immunology and other medical experts. Yet, if their child was sick or they themselves needed emergency medical treatment, how quickly would they do exactly what those same experts told them to do?”