NBA forward Jonathan Isaac is publicly slamming some of the media for carrying out a “blatant miscarriage of information” surrounding COVID, immunity, vaccine mandates, and treatment.
Pin-pointing CNN, Isaac questioned why The network has to “lie” about podcast host Joe Rogan taking ivermectin if all they care about is “protecting the public health.”
“It’s not that people should not get the vaccine, that’s not the argument,” Isaac told Fox News on Monday. “It’s that for me there aren’t scientific legal or to me moral grounds for the vaccine mandate. I think when you take into account the nature of COVID and the nature of the vaccine that doesn’t stop infection or transmission, the nature of natural immunity that hasn’t been talked about and then obviously the polarization by the media that has created such distrust.”
“If this thing is just about protecting people and protecting the public health, why does CNN have to lie about Joe Rogan taking ‘horse dewormer,’ or why does the Rolling Stone have to willfully misrepresent my position on the vaccine or COVID?” questioned Isaac. “Why do these things have to happen if it’s just about protecting people?”
CNN notably linked Rogan taking doctor-prescribed Ivermectin to “horse dewormer” when reporting on the host’s treatment choice. The network also neglected to mention in its report that Rogan said he was feeling better after five days.
Last week, Rogan confronted CNN medical expert Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the network’s coverage. Gupta seemed to agree with Rogan while he was on the podcast, but later agreed with CNN host Don Lemon that it’s “not a lie” to link Rogan to “horse dewormer.”
“It is not a lie to say that [Ivermectin] is used as a horse dewormer. I think that’s important. And it is not approved for COVID, correct?” Lemon said.
“That is correct and it is not approved for COVID,” Gupta responded, adding, “But you know, there’s still a few ongoing trials around Ivermectin. But if you look at the data, there is no evidence that it really works [against COVID] here.”
CNN contributor Mary Katharine Ham took it to CNN on Friday over the “dishonest” reporting.
“Rogan is right that it’s dishonest to say he took horse dewormer when he did not,” Ham tweeted. “It was irresistible to dunk on him for a lot of people, so they went with that instead of sticking to ‘hey, this anti-parasitic isn’t recommended for COVID treatment,’ which would’ve been credible.”
Isaac has come forward to articulate that the vaccine, for him, is not the right choice, considering that he’s already had the virus and is young, fit, and healthy.
“A lot went into my decision for not deciding to get the vaccine,” he told Fox News. “For starters, I have had COVID in the past. I understand our reactions as to immunity natural infection is robust and long-lasting,” he said, adding, “With my current physical fitness level and my age group I don’t feel I’m in a category of fear or of necessarily needing right now to get the vaccine.”
Though his teammates have been accepting of his choice, Isaac said the regulations coming from New York executives will soon make him “ineligible to dine with teammates and potentially not be able to leave a team hotel except for essential and official team activities,” Fox News reported.
Related: Don Lemon Doubles Down On Joe Rogan ‘Horse Dewormer’ Claim, Gets Slammed: Lying ‘Encouraged’ At CNN
This article has been revised for clarity.