John Stockton and Karl Malone are two of the greatest Utah Jazz players. They were present at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, but some fans were unhappy with the league for inviting the two legends.
Stockton, in particular, has made headlines in the last three years due to his controversial views. He refused to believe in the COVID-19 vaccine and defended a woman who participated in the 2021 Capitol attacks.
The Hall of Fame point guard appeared in a video series called "V-Revealed, COVID Edition" in 2021, according to Yahoo! Sports. The controversial video was full of false claims about the COVID-19 vaccine. At one point, his alma mater Gonzaga University even suspended Stockton's season ticket for not following the mask mandate.
•
70% Win
(110-25-1)
70% Win
(110-25-1)
70% Win
(110-25-1)
'; }); pollOptions.innerHTML = pollOptionsDom; pollCount.innerHTML = totalVotes + ' votes'; if (totalVotes > 10) { pollCount.classList.remove("hidden"); } } function trackBetsTodayPollImpression() { var intersectionObserverForArticlePoll = new IntersectionObserver( function(entries) { entries.forEach(function(entry) { var pollId = entry.target.getAttribute("data-poll-id"); if (POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['impression_tracked']) return; if (!entry.target || !entry.isIntersecting || entry.intersectionRatio < 0.5) return; setTimeout(function() { if (isInViewport(entry.target)) { POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['impression_tracked'] = true; var isDesktop = "1"; var gaPayload = { "question" : POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['question'], "category": "Basketball", "page_url": window.location.href, "option1": POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['option1'], "option2": POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['option2'], } if (isDesktop) { gaPayload["device"] = "Desktop"; } else { gaPayload["device"] = "Mobile"; } gtag("event", "BETS_TODAY_POLL_IMPRESSION", gaPayload); intersectionObserverForArticlePoll.unobserve(entry.target); } }, 1000); }); }, { threshold: 0.5 } ); var pollElements = document.querySelectorAll('.bets-today-poll'); pollElements.forEach(function(pollElement) { var isAnswered = pollElement.querySelector(".poll-option-answered"); if (!isAnswered) { intersectionObserverForArticlePoll.observe(pollElement); } }) } return { answerPollX: answerPollX, }; }();According to The Comeback, John Stockton was in hot water again last year for expressing his support for a woman named Janet Buhler, who took part in the January 6 Capitol attacks.
Stockton even penned a letter defending Buhler, the wife of ex-Jazz chiropractor Craig Buhler.
"Janet Buhler is one of the kindest people I have ever known," Stockton wrote. "She has spent a lifetime helping her family, including her husband, care for their patients. She goes to church regularly, volunteers at the homeless shelter, and teaches music endlessly, piano and violin, to children in her own home."Fans on social media reacted to John Stockton and Karl Malone's appearances during the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.
Here are some of the comments on Twitter:
"Really could use some new legends." "Two hall of famers who are ringless because of the 🐐." "'from stockton to malone' was a very famous hoops phrase now it’s the scale you use to ask how problematic someone is" "Get Karl Malone and John Stockton off our screens man" "Stockton is anti vax, not a racist" "he's not racist he just supports racist people (Trump)" "Covid denier and a pedophile walk into an all star game…" "a duo only the utah jazz fans could embrace" "One is bad, one is WAY worse. No where near the same level" "John Stockton is no where near as terrible Karl Malone"John Stockton career in restrospect
John Stockton played in the NBA for 19 seasons, all for the Utah Jazz. He was the 16th overall pick in the 1984 draft and formed an amazing on-court partnership with Karl Malone.
Stockton is the NBA's career leader in assists and steals, both of which are deemed unbreakable records. He's a 10-time All-Star and was part of the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary teams. He went to the NBA Finals twice but lost to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls both times.
Quick Links
More from Sportskeeda
" modalPopup.closeOnEsc = false; modalPopup.setHeader("Why did you not like this content?"); modalPopup.setContentText(modalText); modalPopup.addCancelOkButton("Submit", resetRatingAndFeedbackForm, sendRating); modalPopup.removeCloseModalIcon(); modalPopup.disableDismissPopup(); modalPopup.open(); } else { sendRating(index); } } function sendRating() { var requestPayload = { "post_id": 1407278, "rating_value": ratingValue } if (ratingValue > 3) { requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = null; requestPayload.rating_feedback = null; } else { if (!$('input[name="drone"]:checked') || !$('input[name="drone"]:checked').value) { showErrorMessage('option'); return; } if (!$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea") || !$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value) { showErrorMessage('note'); return; } var selectedOption = $('input[name="drone"]:checked').value; var feedbackNote = $(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value; requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = selectedOption; requestPayload.rating_feedback = feedbackNote; } pureJSAjaxPost(addratingAPI, requestPayload, onsaveRatingSuccess, onsaveRatingFail, function() {}, true); } function resetRatingAndFeedbackForm() { var activeStars = Array.from($all('.rating span.rating-star.active')); for (var i=0; i < activeStars.length; i++) { activeStars[i].classList.remove("active"); } if ($('input[name="drone"]:checked')) { $('input[name="drone"]:checked').checked = false; } var userNote = document.querySelector(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea"); userNote.value = ''; modalPopup.close(); } function onsaveRatingSuccess() { modalPopup.close(); savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie(); $("#post-rating-layout").classList.add("hidden"); $("#post-rating-message").classList.remove("hidden"); window.setInterval(function showMessage() { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.add("hidden"); }, 3000); } function onsaveRatingFail() { console.error('Saving post rating failed!'); modalPopup.close(); } function savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie() { userRatedPostIds.push(1407278); var expiryTime = new Date(); expiryTime.setMonth(expiryTime.getMonth() + 12); // Expiry after 1 year setCookie("user_rated_post_ids", JSON.stringify(userRatedPostIds), expiryTime); } function isPostRatedByUser() { var userRatedPostIds = getCookie('user_rated_post_ids'); if (userRatedPostIds) { try { userRatedPostIds = JSON.parse(userRatedPostIds); } catch (err) { console.error(err); return false; } } else { return false; } if(userRatedPostIds.indexOf(1407278) >= 0) { return true; } else { return false; } } function getRatingCountByPostId(postId) { return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) { pureJSAjaxGet( getRatingCountBaseURL + postId + '/rating/count', function(data) { try { data = JSON.parse(data); if (data.meta_value) { resolve(data.meta_value); } reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } catch (err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } }, function(err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); }, true); }); } function showErrorMessage(messageType) { var messageContainerId = '#' + messageType + '-error'; $(messageContainerId).classList.remove('hidden'); window.setInterval(function () { $(messageContainerId).classList.add("hidden"); }, 5000); } (function() { var callFired = false; function lazyLoadPostRating() { if (callFired) return; callFired = true; if (!isPostRatedByUser()) { getRatingCountByPostId(1407278) .then(function(ratingCount) { if (ratingCount < 10) { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.remove("hidden"); } }) .catch(function(err){ console.error(err); }); } } document.addEventListener("scroll", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("mousemove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("touchmove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); })();ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tLzOq6uso5WasaJ6wqikaJqRqLimwMGao6VnnprEtHnRnpilpKliwrSxjKecsGWcmrSmusOsZKOnmKN6tMDOnKKtp55iv6KvyKyrZpufo8CxtdGamrJlkaG5prPAraCopqNisrm8y6ipnpxdoK6zuIymmKWnnpp6sbXCrayrnV2cvKa%2FjK%2Bgq5mc