(ABC4) – Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington has suspended the legendary basketball player and Utah Jazz Hall of Famer’s basketball season tickets as a result of his failure to abide by the school’s mask mandate.

According to an interview with the Spokesman-Review, Stockton says that the issue boiled down to his stature as a public figure:

“Basically, it came down to, they were asking me to wear a mask to the games and being a public figure, someone a little bit more visible, I stuck out in the crowd a little bit,” Stockton said. “And therefore they received complaints and felt like from whatever the higher-ups – those weren’t discussed, but from whatever it was higher up – they were going to have to either ask me to wear a mask or they were going to suspend my tickets.”

Stockton has also made his view on the Covid-19 vaccine public through a documentary called, “COVID and the Vaccine: Truth, Lies and Misconceptions Revealed,” which came out in June 2021.

Stockton reveals that Gonzaga’s decision to suspend his tickets has strained the relationship between him and his alma-mater, “I’ve been part of this campus since I was probably 5 or 6 years old. I was just born a couple blocks away and sneaking into the gym and selling programs to get into games since I was a small boy. So, it’s strained but not broken, and I’m sure we’ll get through it, but it’s not without some conflict,” he states.

Stockton is the NBA’s all-time leader in assists and steals. He played all 19 of his NBA seasons with the Jazz. He is also Gonzaga’s all-time leader in steals (262).