Calipari endorses COVID vaccines: ‘How about this? They’re not going to die’
Kentucky Coach John Calipari acknowledged Tuesday that he contracted the coronavirus earlier this summer. He also explained why he had not disclosed that publicly.
Because he had been fully vaccinated, he said, and he did not want anyone to interpret his illness as a reason to think vaccines are ineffective and therefore would not get vaccinated.
During a teleconference, Calipari endorsed vaccination to combat COVID.
“How about this? They’re not going to die,” he said of those who get vaccinated. “I’m not telling anyone what to do with their body. I’m telling you what happened to me. …
“My concern is 12 players and our fans. I don’t want to hear (that) anyone died because they didn’t (get vaccinated). It doesn’t say you’ll never get it. But chances of something severe happening are really, really low.”
Calipari said he was in New Jersey when he contracted COVID.
“I have no idea where I got it, where I got it from,” he said. “Some aches and pains. No fever, no headaches.”
Calipari said he had about 25 people who interacted with him regularly get tested. None tested positive, he said, adding that his wife, Ellen, also tested negative.
Being in quarantine was the reason he was not seen at recruiting events nor attended the NBA Draft.
“I lived separately from my wife,” Calipari said. “She was downstairs. I was upstairs.”
Because of his aversion to needles, Calipari said his wife was surprised he got vaccinated.
“When I see a needle, I about faint,” he said before adding, “you’ll never see a tattoo on this body.”
Because of the coronavirus, Calipari said he had not met the parents of Davion Mintz until this past weekend. He invited them to watch the UK team’s practice, but he put preconditions on their coming to practice.
“I asked, have you been vaccinated?” he said. When they said they had, he added, “Just wear masks and watch practice.”
Home and (near) home
Because of SEC expansion, Calipari was asked if Kentucky might be less inclined to play high-profile opponents at neutral sites.
“We’re going to end up giving up something,” he said of future adjustments. “If we can get a great team to play us at home and a neutral site, that’s what we want. So, if you really want to play us, and you’re a good team, play us in Rupp and we’ll play you at a neutral site near you.
“That’s the best way to do it.”
NIL
Calipari offered a mixed thought was asked how players profiting off name, image and likeness deals might impact recruiting.
“Players are not going to come here because of name, image and likeness,” he said.
Recruits will play for UK because of the winning culture and the “results of coming here (aka a springboard to the NBA).”
Then, he added that NIL was “a reason they’ll go somewhere else if you’re not doing it right.”
Calipari dismissed fears of NIL ruining college basketball. He likened such fears to previous worries about the three-point shot and one-and-done players.
Recruiting momentum
Calipari doesn’t think Kentucky had lost momentum in recruiting. He said that UK’s classes had consistently been rated first or second in the nation.
“We missed on some guys,” he said. “I’ve always said it. We will. We don’t get everybody. …
“I’ve said this: I’m overrated as a recruiter.”
Calipari cited UK’s culture as the key to recruiting success.
Keion’s floaters
Calipari lauded how well Keion Brooks Jr. shoots floaters.
“One of the best floaters in the country,” he said. “Shoot it. Less threes, more floaters.”
Brad’s duties
When asked about the duties assigned to his son, graduate assistant Brad Calipari, the UK coach said he would be demanding.
“I’m making him do stuff just to do it …,” he said. “Get me coffee.”
Calipari said he will not drink the coffee, but he wants his son to follow orders.
“I want him to do more than expected,” he said. “I told him that if you want to move in this profession, you do more than expected.”
Statues
UMass plans to unveil statues of prominent people in its basketball history on Friday. The statues will be of Julius Erving, Marcus Camby and former coaches Jack Leaman and Calipari.
Later that night, the school will induct into its Athletics Hall of Fame the Calipari-coached team that advanced to the 1996 Final Four.
“I tried to get Ellen to come,” Calipari said of the unveiling of the statues. “She said, ‘I see you enough. I’m not looking at you as a statue.’”
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 3:06 PM.
