NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton is hoping to score some points against those who used the COVID-19 pandemic to silence health professionals who expressed dissenting views about the coronavirus and the vaccines.
Stockon, along with several doctors, has filed a lawsuit against the Washington State Office of Attorney General and the state’s medical commission. The legal action alleges that these agencies unlawfully stifled the free speech of medical professionals who refused to toe the government line on mask and vaccine mandates, as well as other topics related to the pandemic.
Plaintiff John Stockton and attorney Rick Jaffe joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss the goals of the COVID-related lawsuit and how other doctors have responded to it.
Basketball legend John Stockton took legal action against Washington state officials, accusing them of stifling free speech for doctors who spoke out against the mainstream narrative on COVID-19.
Stockton, who got his Gonzaga season tickets suspended over the school’s mask mandate in 2022, joined “Fox & Friends First” alongside one of his attorneys, Rick Jaffe, to discuss why he filed suit and what is at stake regarding Americans’ First Amendment rights.
“I think it’s pretty simple. It’s freedom. Even though we talk about medical freedom and things, it’s freedom and freedom to speak. It’s our First Amendment,” the longtime Utah Jazz point guard told Todd Piro when asked what the ultimate goal is.
“It’s really important… to our government and the lives that we’ve come to love in the United States of America.
“So if the doctors can’t speak… these brilliant people that we have in our culture, can’t speak when they know truths, their truths, and now we’re deprived of that opportunity to hear… the… wisdom they have to share, I think that’s a big deal,” he continued.
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During an interview with the Spokesman-Review, a media outlet based in Seattle, Jaffe explained that “The only thing we’re interested in is the First Amendmet issue,” questioning the constitutionality of the medical board to sanction doctors for having different views on the virus.
The Washington Medical Commission announced its intention to crack down on supposed misinformation, when the pandemic was in full swing.
In 2021, the Washington Medical Commission was highly restrictive in the information it shared about all things COVID-related. It even released a mission statement about how they would battle “misinformation,” and said that any doctors who offered treatments or recommendations contrary to what the “medical professionals” set would be punished.
“It is our ethical duty to listen to our patients’ concerns, course-correct when people fall prey to falsehoods, and help them make informed medical decisions that are guided by research and medical science,” the statement reads on its website. “Now more than ever we must align with the oath we took to ‘do no harm,’ and part of that means trusting science, listening, educating and caring for our patients according to the guidelines set by the FDA, the CDC, and experts at the state health department as we work to care for and protect the people we treat.”
The lawsuit has support from people in the medical community, according to Stockon, who told Fox News that there was an “overwhelmingly positive” response from doctors who are “grateful that somebody is stepping up that has a voice.”
This is an extremely positive development. For the years when the pandemic was in full swing, government agencies took it as an opportunity to exert more power over the public. So far, none of those who participated in the farce have been held accountable, even though it was revealed that several government institutions were the ones guilty of spreading misinformation.
Perhaps Stockton’s lawsuit might be a step toward forcing those who silenced others for their views to face the consequences for their brazen violations of the First Amendment. We can always hope, right?
