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‘Dr. Fauci Is Cringing At Home,’ Says NBA Finals Announcer As 65,000 Fans Watch Outside Arena

   DailyWire.com
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a White House press briefing, conducted by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House January 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. Psaki held her second press briefing since President Joe Biden took office yesterday. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

On Tuesday night in Milwaukee, the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in game six of the NBA Finals, giving the organization its first NBA Championship since 1971. 

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was out of this world, posting an absurd stat line of 50 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks, shooting 17-19 from the free throw line. It was the culmination of years of adversity and loyalty from Antetokounmpo, who chose to re-sign with the Bucks in the offseason instead of leaving in free agency. 

The entire series was a phenomenal watch, with the Bucks battling back from a 2-0 deficit to win four straight. The arenas in both Phoenix and Milwaukee were packed with fans, an occurrence that seemed impossible just a few months ago. 

The Bucks home games were particularly chaotic, with tens of thousands of fans standing outside the arena watching the game on a big screen. Before game six, it was announced that the “Deer District” — the area outside of the arena — would be expanded to allow 65,000 fans instead of the 25,000 allowed at previous playoff games.  

 

ESPN — the network broadcasting the Finals — continued to show the scene outside the arena, and ESPN announcer Jeff Van Gundy just couldn’t help himself upon seeing the hoard of fans. 

“Dr. Fauci is cringing at home as he’s watching our game,” Van Gundy said as the camera panned over the crowd. 

 

Van Gundy’s remark comes as the Delta variant has become the new focus in the battle against COVID.

Just last week, Los Angeles County reinstated a mask mandate for indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status.

The decision comes as the county has seen an uptick in COVID cases.

“We’re not where we need to be for the millions at risk of infection here in Los Angeles County, and waiting to do something will be too late given what we’re seeing now,” county health officer Dr. Muntu Davis said.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “An uptick in cases, combined with the presence of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus, was behind L.A. County’s urging in late June that all residents wear masks in public indoor spaces.”

Last week, Dr. Fauci was asked if unvaccinated children under a certain age should be wearing masks.

“The children who are not able to get vaccinated because of their age should follow — their parents should follow with them — the guidelines of the CDC, that unvaccinated children at a certain age, greater than two years old, should be wearing masks,” Fauci told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC. “No doubt about that; that’s the way to protect them from getting infected because if they do, they can then spread the infection to someone else.”

“So the CDC guidelines for unvaccinated people, including children, are not changed at all,” he continued. “We are currently doing — ‘we’ being the federal government together in collaboration with the pharmaceutical companies — age de-escalation studies. Namely, looking at the safety and the immunogenicity of vaccines in children from 12 to nine years old and from nine to six and from six to two years old and then ultimately from six months to two years old. Those data will likely be available by the end of the year and then it will be up to the FDA to decide when they would make a recommendation that in fact this could be done in the sense of vaccinating children of that age.”

Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].

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