A recent report raised questions about the eligibility of a couple of Celtics players should they face the Raptors in the playoffs, but one of them, Al Horford, told Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe that he’s fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and will be available for potential playoff games in Toronto.
The other player whose status remains unknown is Jaylen Brown, and he has declined to comment on the matter.
In January, Canada implemented a rule barring unvaccinated individuals from entering the country, and on March 28, in Boston’s first road game since the rule was implemented, the team held four players out of action, including Horford for “personal reasons.”
He later stated, “I’ll be ready to play wherever,” but didn’t explicitly say whether he was vaccinated or not, leading some to question whether he’d be able to play road games against the Raptors in the future. Now he’s put that speculation to rest.
The veteran big man is having a nice season for the Celtics, averaging 10.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 blocks on .463/.333/.842 shooting while providing his usual solid defense. Horford has appeared in 68 games, all starts, with an average of 29.1 minutes per contest.
The Celtics are currently the No. 3 seed in the East with one game remaining. They trail the Bucks by a half-game, and lead the Sixers by a half-game, but hold tiebreakers over both — should they finish tied with one (or both) of them, Boston will finish as the higher seed.
The Raptors (47-33) are the No. 5 seed and appear to be in good position to finish that way; they hold a two-game lead over Chicago and finish their schedule with games against Houston and New York.
As a Raptors fan, even if Jaylen Brown isn’t available for games in Toronto, I still want and need the Sixers in the 1st round. We’re hungry to do what we do against the 6ers.
Where is the quote saying he is fully vaccinated?
“It’s something I haven’t wanted to discuss,” Horford said. “I think with the Celtics, we made it clear we’re not going to discuss those things, and it’s a health matter, and we all respect everybody’s individual perspectives. That’s why I’m not going to get into it and talk about it. But I’m ready to go.”
So…..where is the quote saying the he’s vaccinated. Just because he is ready to go, doesn’t mean he will be allowed to go
Welcome to journalism
Read between the lines
– I’m not talking about it…
But I’ll see you there…
Sounds like he’s vaxed
From the linked article that was paraphrased here, Horford “told the Globe he is fully vaccinated and would be eligible to play in Toronto.”
Would it be necessary for the writer to make a direct quote? For instance: When asked about his status, Horford said “I am fully vaccinated and eligible to play in Toronto.”
The statement written is very clear and no writer will want to look foolish printing something if it wasn’t factually accurate. Unless they have another agenda, but are you really worried about sports writers having deeper agendas?