Michael Irvin Doubles Down On His Vaccine Stance
Nearly 80-percent of NFL players have gotten at least one shot of one of the COVID-19 vaccines so far. There is a vocal group of players that are resisting the league’s various efforts to get them to take the vaccine, and they got called out big time by Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin.
Earlier this week, Irvin was dismayed to find out that his Cowboys were not among the 13 teams that, at that point, had hit the 85-percent vaccination threshold, which allows franchises to lift some restrictions and protocols. To him, it means the players on the roster don’t want to win badly enough.
“It should upset them. Dude, you’re not thinking right. You’re not thinking right. Whatever you got, I don’t give a damn … Nothing else can be more important,” Irvin said. “You’re not going to get this (winning a Super Bowl) easily. Nothing else could be more important.”
“If you’re not one of them teams (at 85-percent), are you really thinking about winning a championship? You see what I’m saying. OK, so now if you’re not getting vaccinated and you got all these other teams that are getting vaccinated . . . Somebody in that damn locker room (should say) ‘Hey man, we’re going to have a chance, are you vaccinated?’”
Michael Irvin says vaccine comments weren't political: "I don't care about the right wing. I don't care about the left wing. I only care about a ring"https://t.co/VC3CaFsYjy pic.twitter.com/a0ztlbiaMM
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) July 23, 2021
The vaccines unfortunately become an incredibly political subject, in the NFL and the country as a whole. Irvin doesn’t want his comments taken that way though: he’s only concerned about athletes’ dedication to winning a Super Bowl.
He appeared on 105.3 The Fan and effectively doubled down on his stance, telling people to leave him out of their political fights on vaccines. To him, it’s just about football. Via the Dallas Morning News:
“Here’s what gets me. I don’t mind you coming after me. I don’t mind you say what you say. Do two things though. Don’t put me into your political discussion. Oh, right wing, left wing. I don’t give a damn about that. I don’t care about the right wing, I don’t care about the left wing — I only care about a ring. Not the right wing, left wing — a ring. I don’t care about the conspiracy theorists, ‘oh they’re trying to kill us.’ If the government wanted you dead, our asses would all be dead right now. So just shut up with all of that.”
[…]
“My thing is, even if I had them, even if I had those fears, that there’s something here, I still am going to get vaccinated. Because the fear don’t override my desire to win a championship.
Amid all of the turmoil and misinformation out there about the vaccines, which have been overwhelmingly safe and very effective at preventing the worst outcomes of COVID-19, maybe Michael Irvin’s Super Bowl-focused rhetorical strategy here will be effective in getting the Cowboys and other teams over the hump.
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