John Stockton's defiance of COVID-19 mask mandate forces Gonzaga to suspend NBA Hall of Famer's bask
Source: The Spokesman-Review
John Stocktons defiance of COVID-19 mask mandate forces Gonzaga to suspend NBA Hall of Famers basketball season tickets
UPDATED: Sun., Jan. 23, 2022
By Theo Lawson
On any night, John Stocktons name and No. 12 jersey can be seen hanging from a banner in the south-facing rafters at McCarthey Athletic Center. But Gonzaga and its most prominent alumnus are at odds over the schools mask mandate, leading Gonzaga to suspend Stocktons season tickets at home basketball games.
In an interview with The Spokesman-Review on Saturday at The Warehouse the Spokane-based gym Stockton has owned since 2002 the NBAs all-time assists and steals leader, and one of only two players whos had his number retired by Gonzaga, confirmed the universitys decision to suspend his season tickets for failing to comply with the mask mandate.
Stockton said Gonzaga Athletic Director Chris Standiford notified him of the universitys decision in a conversation the Naismith Basketball Memorial Hall of Fame point guard described as congenial but also not pleasant.
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 werent 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 taken a strong stance against COVID-19 vaccines, ...
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Read more: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/jan/23/john-stocktons-refusal-to-comply-with-mask-mandate/