Three decades ago, during the 1990 U.S. Senate race in North Carolina, Michael Jordan was asked by his mother to do a public service announcement for challenger Harvey Gantt against incumbent and blatant racist Jesse Helms. He declined.
Later, Jordan explained his avoidance of taking a public stance on any moral, social or civil rights issue, as had his predecessors Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell, with a quote that has followed him ever since:
“Republicans buy sneakers, too.”
And because stopping a viral epidemic has incredibly been made a political issue by those who say it infringes on “their personal liberties,” the very act of vaccination has become a revenue concern. So, rather than performing a public service, Penn State has decided to go all in with its business model.
Because, y’know, antivaxxer conspiracy theorists buy football tickets, too.
Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour during a video press conference on Saturday afternoon cemented the university’s position that it will not require proof of vaccination for entrance to Beaver Stadium during what it plans to be a full-capacity 2021 football season.
At least Jordan owned his position. During the taping of The Last Dance, ESPN’s multi-episode 2020 documentary about his career, he was asked about the quote, his lucrative promotional deal with Nike and celebrity athletes who make social stances in general:
“I do commend Muhammad Ali for standing up for what he believed in. But I never thought of myself as an activist. I thought of myself as a basketball player. I wasn’t a politician when I was playing my sport. I was focused on my craft.
“Was that selfish? Probably. But that was my energy, that was my focus.”
And Penn State is focused on pretty much the same thing as Jordan – making money.
The difference is, this university and its front people continue to posture as something else – partners with the community, an institution with a moral conscience, one that promotes acts for the public good.
So, as the largest university in the Commonwealth, what would perform a public service for the taxpayers of that state institution during an ongoing viral pandemic well into its second year? Maybe requiring that anyone who enters its 107,000-seat stadium provides proof of vaccination from that virus or at least a negative test. As several major-college and NFL clubs have already announced they will do.
I don’t at all necessarily believe that Barbour agrees with the position stated earlier this month by PSU president Eric Barron, that vaccination would not be required of students or of fans at athletic contests. But when I asked her to specify the rationale for not following the lead of, say, the Las Vegas Raiders or Oregon State or Tulane, or right here in the Commonwealth, Temple – which is requiring all students, faculty, staff and university contractors to be fully vaccinated – Barbour was happy to spout the party line, even using an antivaxxer buzz phrase:
“From a required vaccination standpoint, and I’m certainly speaking more broadly as it relates to campus, our campus leadership, our board really felt like the position that we’ve taken is one that balances to the highest degree health and safety as well as kind of personal choice and individual liberties, if you will.”
No, I won’t. Penn State has a unique opportunity as a beloved state institution to not only take a stance and influence public opinion but use the leverage of its gargantuan athletic business for the public good. Those who refuse to be vaccinated have every right to do whatever they like. Their individual liberties are not being infringed upon by Penn State or anyone else.
But the university and its administrators run the business that attracts a 6-figure crowd seven or eight times per year. It’s their call to decide whom to allow into that gathering spot. A loop recorded by public address announcer Dean DeVore blares from speakers around the exterior concourse before each game listing all manner of items that may not be brought into Beaver Stadium – not just firearms but outside food and drink, baby strollers, umbrellas, televisions, chair back seats.
But hey, a virus made exponentially more infectious by a mutant strain? That’s fine, bring it on in. Because banning entry of the unvaccinated who are so much more likely to carry it could be bad for Penn State’s business.
Barron wouldn’t quite admit it – though he came close – but enacting a proof of vaccination requirement for entry to Beaver Stadium might anger the substantial antivax “personal liberties” bloc of the PA legislature, who then might threaten a decrease in some form of Penn State’s state support. We can’t have that.
Funny, but some major universities have been fine with taking such a gamble. Louisiana is not exactly a progressive hotbed, but New Orleans and Tulane were willing to fade that heat. Same with Nevada and Las Vegas. Virtually every state now has such a cabal that must be fought with rational thought and scientific sense. Oregon included.
But the University of Oregon was not afraid. Its board and president voted to require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test in order to attend UO athletic contests this fall, including those of its wildly popular and often nationally ranked football team at Autzen Stadium. The announcement of that mandate was made on Friday, in fact, hours before Barbour’s press conference.
I would presume the decision was cleared with the most affluent donor in college athletics, Oregon grad and staunch Republican Phil Knight. You might know him as the founder of Jordan’s favorite sneaker company – Nike.
I guess even one of the 25 richest people in the world, and his alma mater, don’t make every decision based solely on the profit motive.
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