Anthony Rizzo’s decision not to get COVID-19 vaccine draws some backlash, but Cubs have his back
CHICAGO — As Wrigley Field opened up Friday to 100% capacity for the first time since September 2019, the Chicago Cubs were answering questions about players who chose not to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Cubs are one of only eight MLB teams not to have reached the 85% threshold for fully vaccinated tier-one personnel. First baseman Anthony Rizzo told WMVP-AM 1000 host David Kaplan on Friday that he decided not to get vaccinated, becoming the first Cubs player to admit it publicly.
Rizzo, who quickly became a trending topic on Twitter, was unavailable for comment before Friday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals. A cancer survivor, Rizzo did not give a reason for his decision.
Cubs President Jed Hoyer declined to talk about Rizzo’s status, saying he didn’t “feel comfortable talking about anyone’s individual choices” on the vaccine.
“Ultimately you have the individual choices of 100 people when you factor in tier-one and tier-two (personnel),” he said Friday in an on-field interview with the Chicago media. “There are a lot of individual choices that going into (a decision). I wish those individuals choices led to us being 85 percent (fully vaccinated).
“They haven’t. But commenting on any one person, I don’t feel comfortable doing it.”
Manager David Ross said in San Diego he hoped fans would not judge players’ decisions after a fan yelled “get vaxxed” to one player during a recent Cubs game in San Francisco. But Rizzo already was being criticized on the internet for not getting the vaccine.
Hoyer said he hoped fans wouldn’t treat Cubs players who were not vaccinated any differently than before.
“I don’t think that’s a positive,” Hoyer said. “Our players, especially guys that have been here for a long time, have built up an incredible equity in the community with the fans. And making a personal choice, and one they’re probably not going to articulate to the fans, it’d be a shame if the fans decided to take all that equity and get rid of it.”
Shortstop Javier Báez, who publicly has promoted getting vaccinated, defended Rizzo for being honest in the interview.
“He was just asked, and he didn’t lie about it,” he said.
Báez said he got vaccinated “because I got kids and I’ve got to protect them, and it was a family decision.
“Everyone feels different, and they just don’t believe in it right now. We respect his decision. … We know who the people are who are not (vaccinated). We respect him.”
MLB on Friday released a statement saying 22 teams have reached the 85% threshold of their tier-one individuals being considered fully vaccinated, “which ... will allow for the relaxation of certain health and safety protocols.” The statement also said: “As of today, 85.1% of all tier-one individuals are considered partially or fully vaccinated,” meaning they have received at least one vaccine dose.
Ross said Friday that Rizzo’s decision “doesn’t change my outlook” on him.
“I still respect him a whole lot,” Ross said. “It’s his decision. He’s one of my best friends. He’s a big piece of our team. ... We move forward and respect that and do our best trying to follow the protocols and keep the virus outside our locker room.”
Asked if it was upsetting that the team may not reach the 85% threshold, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said it was a clubhouse issue that he would leave to Ross and Hoyer. He wasn’t worried about potential future ramifications from any COVID-19 related issues.
“I respect all their decisions in the clubhouse and I respect how the manager wants to handle it,” he said. “Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”
Will the Cubs ever get to the 85% threshold to relax COVID-19 protocols?
“We’ll see,” Báez said. “Hopefully we’ll get there. If not we’ll try our best to do it.”
Hoyer said he’ll continue to try to change players’ minds to reach the threshold because it’s the right thing to do.
“We shouldn’t only focus on the 85 percent (threshold),” he said. “We should focus on getting guys vaccinated. But am I optimistic? No, I’m not.”
