The league means business.
National Basketball Association owners are among the most powerful business people on the globe. The NBA money people apparently have had it with people who do not want to take a COVID-19 vaccine and are taking action. Anyone even remotely involved with the league and the game presentation needs to get a vaccine. That group includes personnel under team control who work within 15 feet of players or referees during games and they will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for the upcoming season. Those people who need to get a vaccination include broadcasters, scoreboard operators, photographers, security personnel as well as all back-of-the-house operations, including locker room attendants, medical staff, equipment managers, and food and beverage handlers and providers. People not fully vaccinated will not be permitted to travel with teams. They would have to wear face masks at all times inside team facilities. The league is not dealing with a booster shot at this time.
But there is a group of people that are missing. The players. The National Basketball Association owners would have to negotiate a deal with the National Basketball Players Association to get all the players vaccinated. The owners just cannot order the players to get a vaccine. The coaches have to get a vaccine, the front office staff has to get a vaccine. The trainers have to get a vaccine. All of that has to be done by October 1st. NBA teams open training camps in late September. The NBA wants to get through the 2021-2022 season. The league starts pre-season play in early October and the season begins on October 19th. The owners want to get the vaccination ball rolling as soon as possible. It appears captains of American industries are at the end of the line with people not taking the vaccines.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
