Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Slams LeBron James for ‘Uninformed’ Covid Meme: He ‘Encouraged Vaccine Hesitancy’
Dec 27th, 2021
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fired back at LeBron James on Monday after the current Lakers superstar seemed to compare Covid with the flu and a common cold.
Last Friday, James shared a meme on Instagram featuring three identical-appearing Spider-Man characters pointing at each other while garnering the labels Covid, cold and flu — implying that there is no difference between the three. James captioned the meme with “help me out folks.”
Abdul-Jabbar has been very outspoken about the dangers of the global pandemic and the need for influential people to like James to advocate getting vaccinated.
“The meme’s implication is that LeBron doesn’t understand the difference among these three illnesses, even after all the information that’s been presented in the press,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote on his Substack. “Well, since he asked, let me help him out by explaining the difference—and how knowing that difference might save lives, especially in the Black community.”
“As is evident by some of the comments that cheer LeBron’s post, he’s given support to those not getting vaccinated, which makes the situation for all of worse by postponing our health and economic recovery,” Abdul-Jabbar continued. “The CDC reports that those who are unvaccinated are 9 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital and 14 times more likely to die from COVID than those vaccinated. The number rises to 20 time more likely when compared to someone who’s gotten a booster shot. By posting the uninformed meme, LeBron has encouraged vaccine hesitancy which puts lives and livelihoods at risk.”
In October, the basketball Hall-of-Famer and activist criticized James for acknowledging he got vaccinated, but failing to promote or endorse the jab for others. Instead, James reiterated that the decision to get vaccinated is a personal choice.
Like Abdul-Jabbar, James has been outspoken on social and racial issues throughout his NBA career. Unlike Abdul-Jabbar, James has not placed preaching the dangers of Covid on the list of issues that are important to him.
“While LeBron is a necessary and dynamic voice critical of police brutality against the Black community, he needs to be the same necessary and dynamic advocate with vaccines, which could save thousands of Black lives right now,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “The racism is just as real—and just as lethal—in both cases.”
By Kipp Jones
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fired back at LeBron James on Monday after the current Lakers superstar seemed to compare Covid with the flu and a common cold.
Last Friday, James shared a meme on Instagram featuring three identical-appearing Spider-Man characters pointing at each other while garnering the labels Covid, cold and flu — implying that there is no difference between the three. James captioned the meme with “help me out folks.”
Abdul-Jabbar has been very outspoken about the dangers of the global pandemic and the need for influential people to like James to advocate getting vaccinated.
“The meme’s implication is that LeBron doesn’t understand the difference among these three illnesses, even after all the information that’s been presented in the press,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote on his Substack. “Well, since he asked, let me help him out by explaining the difference—and how knowing that difference might save lives, especially in the Black community.”
“As is evident by some of the comments that cheer LeBron’s post, he’s given support to those not getting vaccinated, which makes the situation for all of worse by postponing our health and economic recovery,” Abdul-Jabbar continued. “The CDC reports that those who are unvaccinated are 9 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital and 14 times more likely to die from COVID than those vaccinated. The number rises to 20 time more likely when compared to someone who’s gotten a booster shot. By posting the uninformed meme, LeBron has encouraged vaccine hesitancy which puts lives and livelihoods at risk.”
In October, the basketball Hall-of-Famer and activist criticized James for acknowledging he got vaccinated, but failing to promote or endorse the jab for others. Instead, James reiterated that the decision to get vaccinated is a personal choice.
Like Abdul-Jabbar, James has been outspoken on social and racial issues throughout his NBA career. Unlike Abdul-Jabbar, James has not placed preaching the dangers of Covid on the list of issues that are important to him.
“While LeBron is a necessary and dynamic voice critical of police brutality against the Black community, he needs to be the same necessary and dynamic advocate with vaccines, which could save thousands of Black lives right now,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “The racism is just as real—and just as lethal—in both cases.”
LeBron James Divides NBA Fans With Meme Equating Covid to the Flu and the Common Cold
By Kipp Jones
Dec 25th, 2021
Harry How/Getty Images)
LeBron James appeared to compare Covid-19 to both the flu and the common cold online Friday amid a nationwide outbreak of cases which are mostly being attributed to the Omicron variant.
The Lakers star posted a Christmas Eve meme on Instagram which used the popular Spider-Man Points at Spider-Man meme format. The image shared by James showed three identical Spider-Man characters pointing one another, and it implied there is no distinction between Covid and the other illnesses.
The star commented, “Help me out folks.”
The post of course drew a mixture of condemnation and praise from prominent NBA fans on Twitter.
The Lakers will enter into a matchup against the Brooklyn Nets Saturday without their head coach and a number of players, who have all entered the NBA’s Covid health and safety protocols, CBS Sports reported.
Avery Bradley, Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, Austin Reaves and Trevor Ariza will sit out the game, as will coach Frank Vogel. The Nets will also be without some notable players for the contest, including Kevin Durant, who entered protocols a week ago.
James’ Covid-skeptical Instagram post was shared a day after professional golfer Phil Mickelson received a seemingly endless number of responses when he enlisted Twitter to help him gain insight into the severity of the Omicron variant.
Harry How/Getty Images)
LeBron James appeared to compare Covid-19 to both the flu and the common cold online Friday amid a nationwide outbreak of cases which are mostly being attributed to the Omicron variant.
The Lakers star posted a Christmas Eve meme on Instagram which used the popular Spider-Man Points at Spider-Man meme format. The image shared by James showed three identical Spider-Man characters pointing one another, and it implied there is no distinction between Covid and the other illnesses.
The star commented, “Help me out folks.”
The post of course drew a mixture of condemnation and praise from prominent NBA fans on Twitter.
The Lakers will enter into a matchup against the Brooklyn Nets Saturday without their head coach and a number of players, who have all entered the NBA’s Covid health and safety protocols, CBS Sports reported.
Avery Bradley, Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, Austin Reaves and Trevor Ariza will sit out the game, as will coach Frank Vogel. The Nets will also be without some notable players for the contest, including Kevin Durant, who entered protocols a week ago.
James’ Covid-skeptical Instagram post was shared a day after professional golfer Phil Mickelson received a seemingly endless number of responses when he enlisted Twitter to help him gain insight into the severity of the Omicron variant.
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