LeBron James said on Tuesday that he doesn’t think he has the right to judge people over their vaccination status.
James made the comments during Los Angeles Lakers media day, touching on the vaccine as well as his team’s addition of former league MVP Russell Westbrook.
But it was vaccinations against Covid-19 that took center stage, as James confirmed he has been fully vaccinated despite being “very skeptical about it all” initially before deciding it was “the right thing to do”.
“I don’t talk about other people and what they should do,” James said. “We’re talking about individual bodies. We’re not talking about something political or racism or police brutality. I don’t think I personally should get involved in what other people do for their bodies and livelihoods.
“I know what I did for me and my family … But as far as speaking for everybody and their individualities and things they want to do, that’s not my job.”
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said the team is on track to be 100% vaccinated. “I’m super proud of our guys making that commitment,” Vogel said.
Vaccination rates in the league as a whole are around 90%, far higher than in the general US population. However, a story in Rolling Stone strongly suggested that the Brooklyn Nets’ All-Star Kyrie Irving, a former teammate of James, hasnot been vaccinated. New York City laws preclude unvaccinated people entering sports arenas, which would mean Irving could not play Nets home games if he has not had the Covid-19 shot.
James also touched on the addition of Westbrook and what the two-time scoring champ needs to do in his first year with the Lakers.
“We need Russ to be Russ,” James said. “We don’t need Russ to change for anybody, that’s why we got him.”