NBA legend John Stockton is making headlines once again, this time not for his on-court prowess but for his legal battle against COVID-19 restrictions in Washington State, as reported by Alayna Shulman of The Spokesman-Review.
Stockton, known for his outspoken criticism on pandemic measures, has joined forces with several doctors and prominent figures in a lawsuit against the Washington State Office of the Attorney General.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, challenges pandemic rules that clamp down on doctors’ ability to dissent from what is termed “the mainstream Covid narrative.”
Led by Stockton and his legal team, including attorneys Rick Jaffe, Todd S. Richardson, and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the lawsuit aims to defend the First Amendment rights of physicians.
At the heart of the matter is the question of whether state authorities have the authority to penalize doctors for expressing views that diverge from mainstream COVID-19 protocols.
The plaintiffs argue that such restrictions on free speech not only infringe upon constitutional rights but also hinder the public’s access to diverse perspectives on the pandemic.