‘I’ve Done All I Can Do To Protect Against It’: Golden State’s Draymond Green On If He’s Worried About COVID-19

With COVID-19 cases spiking across the country, professional sports leagues have not been immune to outbreaks. 

In the month of December, 52 NBA players along with multiple coaches and staff members have been forced to enter the league’s NBA Health and Safety Protocols. On Monday, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed to increase daily testing, while masks will be required to be worn on team benches. The recent outbreak has already caused two games to be postponed, with multiple teams having to play with significantly shorter benches. 

With a reported 97% of the league vaccinated against COVID-19, the league is recommending — but not mandating — booster shots for the players. 

On Thursday, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was asked if he was worried about contracting COVID-19, to which Green said he has done all he could to prevent testing positive. 

“I’ve done all I can do to protect against it. I’m not worried,” Green said. “They said get vaccinated, right? I did that, and I got a booster shot. So, if I’m supposed to worry, then why did they ask me to get those? So, no. I’m not worried. If the vaccines are what they say they are, then I’m not worried. I’ve done all I can do.” 

Green was asked if he has taken any extra precautions as cases have risen, saying that he takes the necessary precautions, including wearing a mask. 

“I wear my mask, but I’m not just going to sit in the hotel room either,” Green continued. “I was told if you got vaccinated, then you could live your life. So, I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to be reckless … Again, I’ve done everything I can do. I didn’t get vaccinated and a booster shot to not be able to live my life. I’ve taken all the necessary precautions that was asked of me. I’ve done everything they’ve asked me to do.”

Draymond Green on any rising concern level regarding COVID: “I’ve done all I can do.” Said he has received his booster shot. pic.twitter.com/KeuP31HUza

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 16, 2021

Prior to the start of the 2021 NBA season, the league made a strong push for all players to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, with only a few players stating publicly that they had not been vaccinated. One of those players was Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, who told reporters at Warriors’ Media Days that his vaccination status was “none of your business.”

Though Wiggins did eventually decide to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Green defended Wiggins’ decision at the time, saying that his leadership role did not extend to telling his teammates what to put in their bodies. 

“That would be like me telling him, ‘Yo, your wife is going into labor. How dare you leave this team and not go tend to your wife?’” Green said. “That’s something that’s personal to him. That’s something that’s health-related. That’s something that’s personal to his family. This is no different. We’re dealing with something that to me feels like has turned into a political war when you’re talking about vaccinated [people] and non-vaccinated [people]. I think it’s become very political.”

Green went on to discuss societal pressure to receive the jab, questioning why the vaccine had become a political issue. 

“For someone who’s not extremely into politics, when you make something so political — not everyone is into politics — then you can also turn those people off,” Green continued. “There is something to be said for people concerns about something that’s being pressed so hard. Like ‘why are you pressing this so hard?’”

“You say we live in the land of the free. Well, you’re not giving anyone freedom because you’re making people do something essentially,” Green later said. “Without necessarily making them, you’re making them do something. That goes against everything that America stands for, or supposedly stands for.”

Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].

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