Ted Cruz is one of the more unpopular senators out there right now although he certainly knows how to get himself air time in the political sphere. In the past, Cruz has had a more combative relationship with athletes, particularly LeBron James, whom he criticized for his role in the whole China debacle that took place all the way back in 2019.
Now, however, Cruz finds himself in agreement with James and other NBA stars in light of the recent discourse surrounding vaccines. Players like Kyrie Irving, Andrew Wiggins, and Jonathan Isaac have come out against the vaccine, while LeBron has said that he himself has the shot, although he won't be convincing anyone to get it, anytime soon.
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As a result, Cruz has been praising these players on Twitter, and it has the NBA world conflicted. In the tweets below, Cruz says "I’ve never said this before: I agree with @KingJames [...] @KingJames is being courageous here. With his box-office power, he could be even more courageous—he could SOLVE the problem—by saying: 'I stand w/ my fellow players. And I won’t play in any arena that bans another NBA player because they make a personal healthcare choice.'"
The fan reactions to Cruz's comments were certainly split as some felt like the Senator was just making the situation worse for political points. Others loved it as they feel as though this is an issue they can unite with NBA players on.
Needless to say, the vaccine remains extremely political despite it not needing to be.