99% of NBL Players are Vaccinated: Loeliger

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger has revealed 99 percent of the league’s players are vaccinated against COVID-19.

The league has been educating players, coaches and staff on vaccination and it is set to become a non-issue when the season tips-off on December 3.

"The really pleasing element is that 99 percent of our players are already either completely vaccinated or had their first dose," Loeliger said.

"It's fantastic that they've taken such a proactive response to being prepared for the season.

"We've ensured that we've delivered a really extensive education program for clubs, for players, to ensure that they are aware of the implications of not being vaccinated, both from a health perspective but also from a practical perspective and what that could mean in terms of crossing between state borders and international borders, and what it could mean in terms of potentially not being permitted access to venues as well.

“It’s really pleasing that such a high proportion of our players have already taken those steps and they're well and truly ready for the season.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Speaking to the media earlier today, NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger and Executive Director Larry Kestelman shared that 99% of the playing group have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination shot ahead of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/N9M5FsIrxN">pic.twitter.com/N9M5FsIrxN</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1447777819065417734?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

NBL Owner and Executive Chairman Larry Kestelman expressed how proud he was that the players were leading the way for vaccination rates in Australian sport.

“(I am) proud of them, not just thinking of themselves, but of the overall community and the sport and everyone involved in it,” Kestelman said.

“Couldn't ask for anything more. It's an outcome that I think every sport can be proud of or any business can be proud of.

"I'm proud of the outcome that we've been able to achieve and the 99 percent is just amazing and I'm confident we'll get the season up and running with that not being an issue.”