On a recent appearance on the “10 Questions with Kyle Brandt” podcast, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that he will require his employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“It is your choice. It is absolutely, positively up to you. But there are consequences that come with that,” Cuban said. “If you work for me, I require my employees to be vaccinated unless there’s a doctor’s reason where they can’t be. I don’t want my kids to be at risk, so the consequences of you not being vaccinated is I’m not going to shut the [expletive] up. I’m going to be in your mother[expletive] ear driving you mother[expletive]s crazy.”
In early October, the Mavericks announced that fans will be required to provide proof of the vaccine or have a negative COVID test in order to attend Mavericks home games. All attendees over the age of two will also be required to wear a mask inside the arena.
Cuban discussed the arena’s COVID-19 requirements with Brandt, saying that he believes in natural immunity but would rather “err on the side of caution,” which is the reason for the negative test.
“I’m a believer in natural immunity,” Cuban said. “Meaning, if you’ve got COVID, you probably are immune for some period of time. We don’t know how long, but you are immune.”
Cuban went on to say that the only way to confirm that a fan still has the antibodies is to “Ask you to go get a blood test to confirm you still have your antibodies” or “Just ask for a negative test.”
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning vaccine mandates by employers, including private companies, throughout the state. The order reads:
No entity in Texas can compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine by any individual, including an employee or a consumer, who objects to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19. I hereby suspend all relevant statutes to the extent necessary to enforce this prohibition.
On Tuesday, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines — which are both based in Texas — said that they would follow federal contractor guidelines and still require their employees to be vaccinated.
As previously reported by The Daily Wire, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly pointed to President Joe Biden for its decision to mandate the vaccine for Southwest employees.
“I’ve never been in favor of corporations imposing that kind of a mandate,” Kelly told CNBC on Tuesday morning. “I’m not in favor of that, never have been. But the executive order from President Biden mandates that all federal employees and then all federal contractors, which covers all major airlines, have to have a vaccine mandate in place by December 8. So we’re working through that.”
As the NBA season rapidly approaches, the league has been forced to deal with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, including from a number of players who spoke out against the vaccine as well as pressure from society to be vaccinated.
Players such as Kyrie Irving, of the Brooklyn Nets, Bradley Beal, of the Washington Wizards, and Jonathan Isaac, of the Orlando Magic, have refused the vaccine. For Irving, his decision to remain unvaccinated is having real-life consequences.
In order to play in Brooklyn’s home games at Barclays Center, players must have at least one dose of the vaccine, per New York requirements. On Tuesday, Nets general manager Sean Marks announced that Irving will not be allowed to practice or play “until he is eligible to be a full participant.”
“Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant,” Marks said in a statement.
The NBA season tips off October 19, and the Mavericks first game is October 21 against the Atlanta Hawks.
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].