Andrew Wiggins Could Miss All 41 Home Games Due To His Anti-Vaccination Stance

 

San Francisco and Chase Center have stringent policies about vaccination requirements, meaning the Golden State Warriors could be without Andrew Wiggins for home games due to his refusal to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Warriors have "increasing concern" about the availability of Andrew Wiggins due to local COVID-19 mandates, per @Rusty_SFChron

He has declined getting the vaccine and said he won't receive it unless he's forced to. pic.twitter.com/XAMkXanGCp

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 23, 2021

San Francisco and New York City have laws requiring all employees to be vaccinated for large indoor events, and the NBA has already informed teams that they must obey local vaccine laws. 

Wiggins was even set up by the Warriors to speak with a doctor well-versed in the subject of vaccine hesitancy, and he still came away steadfast in his refusal.

“Wiggins remains unmoved in his decision against vaccination” pic.twitter.com/PRuoDaMgfc

— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) September 23, 2021

Wiggins, who averaged 18.9 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Warriors last season, will be denied entry into Oracle Arena, and will miss Golden State's home games if he continues his anti-vaccination stance. 

The Brooklyn Nets also face the same situation with "a couple of players" due to similar laws in New York, according to general manager Sean Marks. However, he's hoping they will be vaccinated by the time the season opens. 

As noted in a recent Yahoo report, Minnesota Timberwolves' star Karl-Anthony Towns has lost seven family members to Covid-19, including his mother, and recently called out anti-vaxxers everywhere. 

Every day I see a new excuse why people ain’t getting the vaccine. Ya starting to get creative with these “reasons” though and it’s actually really funny.

— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) September 15, 2021

"I beg everyone to continue to take it seriously by taking all the necessary precautions," said Towns in an Instagram post. "We cannot stop the spread of this virus alone, it must be a group effort by all of us." 

The NBA has already mandated that any league personnel (coaches, referees, game arena staff, etc.) that come into contact with players must be fully vaccinated, as they continue to do all they can to ensure the safety and continuity of the league. 

Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports