Mayor Adams Follows the Money, Not “the Science”

By Yehudit Garmaise

When Mayor Adams lifted the vaccine mandate for professional athletes and performers, while adding that he had no plans to re-evaluate the private-sector mandate for anyone else, he said was “following the science,” but seems to be following the money generated by professional sports.

While Adams said he believes vaccination is the right course for everyone, including anti-vaxxer star athletes, the mayor said that allowing all athletes to play is necessary for the city to come back economically.

"By putting our home teams on an equal playing field we increase their chances of winning and bringing the city back economically,” the mayor said Thursday. “It's not just the fans in the stands, it's the fans in the stores," said Adams. 

"These are real dollars, and they play a major role." 

City Council speaker Adrienne Adams said that the mayor’s explanation that professional athletes and other performers are allowed to exercise their “personal freedom” to refuse vaccination sends the wrong message that higher paid workers and celebrities are valued more than our devoted civil servants: a message that she said she rejects.

Today, Mayor Eric Adams did not seem bothered by the many people who say that he is enforcing one set of rules for janitors, firefighters, and police officers, and another set of rules for rich celebrities.

The mayor said, “Adrienne Adams is a speaker of the City Council. We are going to agree and disagree sometimes. That is alright.

“It’s all good. She has a right to her opinion, and I have the right to carry out what is best for the city of New York.”