Irving clearly understands the privileges that come with his stardom, including the ability to get millions of people to listen to whatever he has to say. A few years ago, he drew worldwide attention by claiming, with a straight face, that he believed the world is flat. “I do research on both sides,” he said in 2017. “I’m not against anyone that thinks the Earth is round. I’m not against anyone that thinks it’s flat. I just love hearing the debate.”

He later apologized. “At the time, I was, like, huge into conspiracies,” he said. “And everybody’s been there.”

That’s precisely the problem. Far too many Americans are “huge into conspiracies,” and it is deeply irresponsible for famous athletes to encourage them to go down the anti-vaccine rabbit hole…

Many vaccine skeptics insist they are doing their own “research,” as though they have medical degrees and are experts in virology and epidemiology. Irving has none of these qualifications; neither do James nor the other players who are withholding their voices from this vital campaign. Clearly, it is important to him to assert his individuality. But there are occasions — such as wartime — when individual rights are outweighed by collective duty. We are at war with the virus that causes covid-19, and we have suffered far more casualties in this 20-month battle than in World War I and World War II combined.