ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has publicly asked for Los Angeles Laker LeBron James to take the COVID-19 vaccination because he feels his platform would encourage many Black Americans to consider it too and help bring an end to the pandemic.
The NBA champion was previously voiceful about not wanting the league to hold All-Star Weekend and the game because of COVID-19. During a press conference in early March LeBron explained that it was a private issue and not for the media when asked about the vaccine.
“That’s a conversation that my family and I will have. [We] pretty much keep that to a private thing,” he stated to ESPN. “Obviously, I saw [NBA commissioner Adam Silver] had his comments about the vaccination, but things like that, when you decide to do something, that’s a conversation between you and your family and not for everybody. I’ll keep it that way.”
Smith has taken the shot but understands King James’ reservations about the vaccination and going public to endorse it. He also knows the impact COVID-19 has had on the African American community and the many lives lost.
“Well this is a very delicate conversation, and I want to address it with the seriousness that it deserves. In being completely respectful to LeBron James, I want to emphasize that LeBron James has the right to feel that way. To some people it’s an incredibly private situation. As a Black man, considering this nation’s history and its unethical behavior when it came to using Black folks as guinea pigs … I definitely understand the hesitation and apprehension on his part,” Smith stated on ESPN’s “First Take.”
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