By: Adrian Jacobs
Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins has been in the NBA for 7 years now, drafted back in 2014 as the first pick of the draft for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Only 26, he has a bright future ahead of him within one of the greatest organizations in basketball history. Wiggins was a significant addition to Golden State Basketball last season, averaging 18.6 points per game as well as helping build the amazing defense the franchise continues to have.
In San Francisco, where the Golden State Warriors host all of their home games, it is required that everyone 12 years or older must be vaccinated in order to attend any indoor events. This mandate has struck emotions of all sorts across the country and Andrew Wiggins’ situation is a prime example.
After hearing this law, Wiggins feared for his continuation in the NBA. The NBA would not accept his family heritage being the main reason behind refusing to get the COVID-19 shot. Wiggins even tried claiming it was through religious purposes, but the NBA denied his request, tweeting, “Wiggins will not be able to play in Warriors home games until he fulfills the city’s vaccination requirements.”
The Golden State Warriors’ Player finally decided to be the first in his family to get vaccinated, pronouncing, “The only options were to get vaccinated or not play in the NBA. It was a tough decision. Hopefully, it works out in the long run and in 10 years I’m still healthy.”
He then goes on to criticize the system, “But I guess to do certain stuff, to work, I guess you don’t own your body. That’s what it comes down to. If you want to work in society today, then I guess they made the rules of what goes in your body and what you do. Hopefully, there’s a lot of people out there that are stronger than me and keep fighting, stand for what they believe, and hopefully, it works out for them.”
This is Wiggins’ 8th season in the NBA and he has never faced such an issue. Getting the vaccine is a grudge he is going to hold on to for quite some time. As seen in his interview, Wiggins’ bitterness of the situation will carry on, “It feels good to play, but getting vaccinated, that’s going to be something that stays in my mind for a long time,” Wiggins said. “It’s not something I wanted to do, but I was forced to.”
Warriors have their season-opener on Tuesday, October 19th against the LA Lakers. Although he believes he was “forced” into getting the vaccine, Wiggins’ participation sets for a high-hoped, dominant performance by the Golden State Warriors this year.
beniciapaw.com 