Nuggets won’t ‘muzzle’ Michael Porter Jr. after he said coronavirus ‘being used for population control’

Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. posted Adam Silver’s cell phone number on Snapchat last August.

Porter nearly made it a full year until another Snapchat controversy.

Porter on Snapchat:

Personally, I think that the coronavirus is being used obviously for a bigger agenda. And it’s being used for population control in just terms of being able to control the masses of people. I mean, because of the virus, the whole world is being controlled. I mean, you’re required to wear masks.

And who knows what will happen when this vaccine comes out? You might have to have the vaccine in order to travel. That would be crazy. I’ve never been vaccinated in my life. I’ve never had any shots or anything like that. So, it could get crazy.

But there’s definitely an agenda behind everything that’s going on right now, and all you can do is sit back and watch what’s going on. Don’t get too emotionally involved.

But, yeah, I mean, it is a serious thing. It’s a real thing. But, yes, it’s being overblown.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone, via Mike Singer of The Denver Post:

“I know that Tim Connelly and our front office have talked to Michael about his comments last night and this morning, long before I realized what was said,” Malone said. “So it has been talked to him. He understands the situation, but we as an organization are not going to put a muzzle on anybody. If somebody has a strong belief on something, they have the platform and freedom to use that. We’ll just try to educate guys so they understand the impact of what they may be saying.”

This is a completely reasonable response by the Nuggets. More than ever, NBA players are encouraged to speak out. That’s great. Like everyone, NBA players deserve freedom of expression. But it won’t always lead to “approved” messages – nor should it.

When players say something disagreeable… disagree with them! And for those positioned to do so, educate players when they’re wrong or misguided.

There’s plenty of opportunities with what Porter said.

I don’t think Porter meant “population control” in the standard sense of the term (limiting the number of a population). That’d be quite dark. I believe he meant, with coronavirus existing, it’s being used as an excuse to control what people do.

But know what actually puts massive restrictions of how people live? Not masks. Coronavirus itself. Masks allow people to regain some freedom amid this pandemic.

That’d work better if more people took coronavirus more seriously. Though there are naturally both people who take coronavirus too seriously and people who don’t take it seriously enough, Porter is railing against the smaller side.

Also, vaccines are good: