On the surface, it appears that Draymond and LeBron are arguing for the American ideal of individual freedom of choice. But they offer no arguments in support of it, nor do they define the limits of when one person’s choice is harmful to the community. They are merely shouting, “I’m for freedom.” We’re all for freedom, but not at the expense of others nor if it damages the country. That’s why we mandate seatbelts, motorcycle helmets, car insurance, education for our children. For example, seatbelt compliance is at 88% in the U.S., but that 12% that doesn’t comply results in 47% of car accident fatalities (17,000) and costs U.S. employers $5 billion a year, and those costs are passed on to us. They made the choice, but we survivors are left to deal with the grief and the price tag.

The cost of COVID-19 on this country is difficult to measure. We can come up with a monetary amount: Harvard economists say it’s cost us $16 trillion so far. Money that might have been spent to build the country, provide jobs, help the disadvantaged. But the real cost is the 700,000 dead, thousands of which could have been saved if they’d followed the CDC protocols and got vaccinated. And thousands more are dying every day. Add to that the medical costs of those who will suffer for years from long-haul symptoms.

The only support for Draymond’s statement is his belief that when people “press hard” there’s something inherently wrong with their opinion. There is no logic to that statement. If I press hard against institutional racism, if I press hard against police brutality, if I press hard against recent laws making it harder for minorities to vote, if I press hard against child porn, if I press hard in support of MeToo am I automatically wrong?