NBA, Abandon the Game and Vaccinate All Stars in a Publicity Campaign!
The NBA organization and its players association are finalizing plans to host the NBA All Star game early in March in Atlanta during a week that was supposed to give the players a break in this compressed season.
Like about every corporation in the country, NBA lost revenues last season and will do so again this season because of the pandemic. However, the NBA was able to salvage the 2019–20 season and crown a champion. This season has been curtailed to 72 regular season games, with few or no spectators for most games.
The All Star game is one way for the NBA to make up for some lost revenue, but it is also a bad idea! Purely economically, the idea might be bad. Hosting the game in Atlanta where the pandemic is not under control, with spectators and with players from many teams, risks a virus spread across the NBA. When All Star players, coaching staff, and their families return home, they may become super spreaders. This could affect many teams and games in weeks following the All-Stars game.
Many All Star NBA players have had a short off season of just two months. Their bodies and minds need a break in the middle of this abridged season. If King James and his courtiers say that the stars need a break and not a game, maybe the NBA needs to listen to them.
Here is a good idea instead: Use the NBA all stars break week for a vaccination publicity campaign. Maybe the players from the teams in this year’s Super Bowl will join the NBA stars in a joint vaccination campaign. Imagine a LeBron James Tom Brady pre-vaccination banter that would be must watch TV instead of a lackluster game that few will tune in to watch.
Several of my friends and relations in the US have already received their first dose of vaccination. Some are on the healthcare frontline. Some are senior citizens and some just look like senior citizens. Some have connections and some are just clever. But they are all motivated and they have access.
Today the problem is one of vaccination shortage. Before long, the problem will be a shortage of people willing to vaccinate. The underprivileged may have access, but they may be unsure or unwilling to be vaccinated. What better way to persuade them than a vaccination campaign week in March in Atlanta and elsewhere, with some of the brightest stars from the NBA and the like?
Super Bowl Sunday side bit.
Joe asks: Is Tom Brady the greatest athlete ever? Stay tuned.
