Basketball fans are mourning the Hall of Famer’s death.
Rob Schneider hasn’t been shy about his anti-vaccine views in recent years. Yesterday, the Saturday Night Live alum took the opportunity to share his opinion on the COVID-19 vaccination following the death of NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo.
Mutombo died of brain cancer at age 58 on Sept. 30. Almost immediately after his death was announced, Schneider took to X to share one of Mutombo’s posts from 2021 where the eight-time NBA All-Star encouraged his followers to get vaccinated against COVID.
“Rest in peace,” Schneider wrote before making his point. “I’m sure this is just (another) coincidence. But I took a pass on the jab and I’m gonna not let anyone I know (and who will listen) get it either!”
Former NBA star Rex Chapman, a contemporary of Mutombo’s, called out Schneider’s heartless comments in the wake of the acclaimed basketball player’s death.
“This is monstrous. Dikembe fought hard for the past year. He died from brain cancer. He lived beyond an honorable life,” he wrote.
“Just don’t understand the value in doing something like this,” Chapman added in another post. “Dikembe Mutombo was one of the finest people you’ll ever meet. Google him. He spread nothing but good in the world. At its core, stuff like this (above) is simply just mean.”
Commenters online didn’t take kindly to Schneider’s remarks on Mutombo’s death. Some made note of his daughter Elle King’s public disowning of her father due to his political views.
Others said he was “taking someone’s death to make it about this anti-vax s–t again.” “He had brain cancer. Which he got because (unlike you) he had a f–king brain,” one person said.
In a follow-up post on Oct. 1, Schneider brushed off any criticism of his ill-timed comments, insisting those upset should direct their anger toward U.S. public health professionals.
“Dear fake outrage warriors, save your anger for the liars who promised the jab was the only cure, that if you took it you wouldn’t get COVID or give it: [Joe] Biden/[Kamala] Harris, [Dr. Anthony] Fauci, [Rachel] Maddow, Pfizer, your liberal media, the cowardly teachers’ union, masking two-year-olds, [governors] who closed schools.”
There is no scientific evidence that any COVID-19 vaccine causes or accelerates cancer. The vaccines have been linked to cases of anaphylaxis, myocarditis, and pericarditis, although these adverse outcomes remain rare according to the CDC.
Schneider’s next comedy show is Oct. 4 in Sacramento.
