No Jab? Benched.
Australian State, Victoria, has recently mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for many professions. Among those required to have a COVID-19 vaccination by the end of November 2021 are professional athletes, those involved in the operation of professional sport and sports broadcasters. The consequences that athletes face if they refuse to get vaccinated is a ban from their workplaces, in this case, the sporting arena.
Following this, Cricket Australia and the AFL have both revealed their positions. Cricket Australia has stated that every athlete contracted with the organisation are already fully vaccinated and that shortly, 98% of their domestic professional staff will have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The AFL has said they are waiting for further government directions on the matter. However, given the timeline, all AFL players will need to be fully vaccinated by the time pre-season training begins.
More controversially, the Professional Footballers Association, the key representative body for soccer in Australia, has not yet mandated vaccinations among players but is strongly encouraging players to get jabbed. In light of this, some Melbourne players have voiced anti-vaccination rhetoric online. Two of the key teams in Melbourne, Melbourne United and Melbourne City, maintain that they will adhere to the state-wide mandate.
Similarly, on the American stage, the NBA has detailed their protocols for the upcoming season with regards to restrictions on unvaccinated players vs vaccinated players. Unvaccinated players will remain plagued with heavy restrictions while vaccinated players will not be subject to the daily testing regime. Unvaccinated players will also have strict movement rules in place. Fully vaccinated players will also not be subject to quarantine measures unless there are shown to be unusual circumstances. To be noted is that the NBA has yet to implement a vaccine mandate, although this idea was brought to the Players Association who rejected it, with a few notable players who are still yet to be vaccinated. With this the issue has been presented that as these players voice their decisions not to get vaccinated, there is the potential that they are contributing to misinformation surrounding the vaccination.
It is still to be seen what problems may arise when teams from other states and other counties travel to Victoria to compete. Following the announcement of Victoria’s vaccine mandate, it will be interesting to see whether any individual sporting leagues pursue their own vaccine mandates. Further, there are potential implications for human rights- including that of consent to medical treatment as well as the value of bodily autonomy. This is significant for athletes, whose bodies are of paramount importance, and are now subject to regulation. While these are key issues, the vaccine mandated has been supported by sporting bodies in Victoria.
If you are interested in learning more about Victoria’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for athletes, please see here.