According to ESPN's memo, the NBA informed its teams Tuesday night it was finalizing an agreement on safety and health protocols for the upcoming regular-season.
Unvaccinated players will be subject to many of the same restrictions as the entire league was under during the last season before the COVID-19 vaccine became available.
However, vaccinated players will be subject to far fewer restrictions. All fully vaccinated players as well as Tier 1 personnel (coaches and any other person working within 15 feet of referees and players) will not be subject to daily testing.
Only Tier 1 and Tier 1 personnel who have been vaccinated will be tested if they become symptomatic or when a close friend of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or a member of the league medical staff, requires it.
Unvaccinated players will still need to be tested daily before they can enter a team facility or participate in team-organized activities. As they did last season, they will have to go through lab-based game day testing.
The rules that will govern unvaccinated players are similar to those that were in place last season. These rules include: not being allowed to eat indoors with any Tier 1 or other player; required to keep at least six feet from any other person (and wearing a mask at all times); required that you maintain at least six foot distance from any other player receiving treatment (and required at all times to wear your facemask); and required to have a locker that is at least six feet from all other players.
Players who are not fully vaccinated should be prevented from sitting together in teams.
The unvaccinated players must also remain at their home and at the team hotel while on the road. There are only two exceptions: team activities and essential activities like shopping for groceries and taking their children to school. They cannot go to bars, clubs, entertainment venues, large indoor gatherings or restaurants.
If they are close to a contact, fully vaccinated players won't need to quarantine unless they have "unusual circumstances." However, they will still have to undergo daily rapid testing for the following seven days.
Players who are not vaccinated will have to be quarantined for seven days regardless of what.
Facemasks will be required for all players, vaccinated or not.
This will not be true if players are actively eating or drinking, showering, or participating in other basketball activities.
The head coaches won't need to hide during games.
Before the final agreement can be reached, there are still issues to resolve. These include what testing will be done for fully vaccinated athletes during the regular season as well as what activities fully vaccinated athletes will be allowed to participate in beyond team activities.
Nearly 90% of NBA players have been vaccinated. However, there are still a few -- including Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards star who claimed he was not during Monday's media conference. Executive orders in New York City, San Francisco and Brooklyn, respectively, require that anyone working in a gym, including the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Chase Center in San Francisco, have at least one COVID-19 shot and be fully vaccinated.
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irwin was not present at the media day at Barclays Center due to the New York order, which took effect earlier in the month. Wiggins stated that his vaccination status was "private", ahead of that order taking effect next month.
The executive orders that govern the vaccine are only applicable to players in those markets. Players outside of these markets are exempted.
When Mike Bass, NBA vice president of communications, was asked about the absence of a vaccine mandate within the NBA, he stated that a deal with the Players Association would be necessary for a vaccine mandate for NBA players. These proposals were made by the NBA, but players' union rejected any requirement for vaccination.
Later Tuesday, Michele Roberts (executive director of the NBPA) issued her own statement regarding the vaccination status for the league's members.
Roberts stated that "over 90% of our players have been fully vaccinated." On average, only fifty-five (55%) Americans are fully vaccinated. The real story isn't why vaccination isn’t mandatory in the NBA. For vaccine advocates, the real story is how we can imitate the NBA players.
