Gonzaga has suspended the season tickets of its most famous alum due to his failure to follow the school’s arena mask mandate.
NBA legend John Stockton, who played point guard for the Bulldogs from 1980 to 1984, revealed in an interview with The Spokesman-Review that the university suspended his season tickets due to his refusal to wear at mask at Gonzaga’s home games.
“Basically, it came down to, they were asking me to wear a mask to the games and being a public figure, someone a little bit more visible, I stuck out in the crowd a little bit,” Stockton said. “And therefore they received complaints and felt like from whatever the higher-ups – those weren’t discussed, but from whatever it was higher up – they were going to have to either ask me to wear a mask or they were going to suspend my tickets.”
Stockton added, “I think it’s highly recorded now, there’s 150 I believe now, it’s over 100 professional athletes dead – professional athletes – the prime of their life, dropping dead that are vaccinated, right on the pitch, right on the field, right on the court.”
Stockton went on to discuss his history with the school. “I’ve been part of this campus since I was probably 5 or 6 years old. I was just born a couple blocks away and sneaking into the gym and selling programs to get into games since I was a small boy,” he said, So, it’s strained but not broken, and I’m sure we’ll get through it, but it’s not without some conflict.”
Gonzaga’s Athletic Director, Chris Standiford, notified Stockton of the university’s decision. The school requires proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours to attend home games. Additionally, anyone over the age of 15 must wear a mask in order to be in the arena.
“Gonzaga University continues to work hard to implement and enforce the health and safety protocols mandated by the State and by University policy, including reinforcing the indoor masking requirement. Attendees at basketball games are required to wear face masks at all times,” Standiford said in a statement. “We will not speak to specific actions taken with any specific individuals. We take enforcement of COVID-19 health and safety protocols seriously and will continue to evaluate how we can best mitigate the risks posed by COVID-19 with appropriate measures.”
