{"id":146333,"date":"2021-10-18T22:29:09","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T22:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=146333"},"modified":"2021-10-19T02:59:53","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T02:59:53","slug":"dees-premiership-star-slams-vaccine-mandates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=146333","title":{"rendered":"Dees premiership star slams vaccine mandates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Melbourne<\/a> forward Tom McDonald has slammed vaccine mandates, saying it is "ethically wrong" to force individuals to require vaccinations to be able to work.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old confirmed that he had received the vaccination, but spoke after reports emerged surrounding an AFLW player's unwillingness to be vaccinated.<\/a> <\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Warner's horror run continues at T20 World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n

The AFL is yet to finalise a vaccination policy for its players, and McDonald said he would have no problem playing against an unvaccinated player next season.<\/p>\n

"I'm vaccinated and most players would have been, but \u2026 it's ethically wrong to force people to [have] a medical procedure," McDonald told 9News Melbourne.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

"We're on track \u2014 we would have gotten 90 per cent of the state \u2014 and I don't see why we needed to cause such issues and division by forcing people in many jobs where it's probably not as necessary.<\/p>\n

"That's why you get vaccinated, to protect yourself. I don't understand why we need to force other players."<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Football star given deadline to enter prison voluntarily<\/a><\/p>\n

McDonald's message came as AFL Players' Association CEO Paul Marsh also pleaded for players to be afforded some privacy as they make their vaccination choice.<\/p>\n

"We understand that football is a high profile sport, however, some things are bigger than the game, including an individual's private medical situation," Marsh wrote in a statement, in part.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"The pursuit of players who are still deciding, decide not to, or are unable to get vaccinated for COVID-19, applies unfair and unnecessary pressure on them and their loved ones in circumstances where the rest of us would be afforded privacy.<\/p>\n

"Our players are passionate about the game and any decision to not receive a vaccine that may ultimately mean walking away from a career they love is not a decision any player would make lightly."<\/p>\n

Marsh's sentiment was also echoed by AFLW CEO Nicole Livingstone, who said the league as a whole was working to educate players as much as possible.<\/p>\n

"We are still living through a global pandemic, and if anybody \u2026 feels like playing a sport during a global pandemic is not for them, then I have to respect that," she told SEN.<\/p>\n

"We'll support the players as much as we can to make an informed choice."<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/em>For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melbourne forward Tom McDonald has slammed vaccine mandates, saying it is "ethically wrong" to force individuals to require vaccinations to be able to work. The […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146333"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=146333"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":146335,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146333\/revisions\/146335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=146333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=146333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=146333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}