Former NBA player and Hall of Fame member John Stockton has taken Washington state officials to court over COVID-19 policies that threatened to penalize doctors who contradict “mainstream coronavirus theories.”
Stockton is also joined in the lawsuit by doctors who have faced sanctions from the state, naming Washington Medical Commission Executive Director Kyle S. Cullinen and Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson as defendants. There is. Stockton’s attorneys include Rick Jaffe, Todd S. Richardson and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“The purpose of this lawsuit is to protect the right of physicians to speak and the public’s right to hear their messages,” the lawsuit states. USA Today. “The purpose is for the committee to investigate, prosecute, and prosecute doctors who publicly speak out against the so-called “mainstream coronavirus theory,” a series of public health edicts issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ) and repeated by major news outlets, eroding public trust in public health officials and prompting the CDC to repeatedly apologize and promise improvements.”
protect children’s healtha nonprofit organization founded by RFK Jr., is also reportedly named as a plaintiff.
Other plaintiffs include a retired ophthalmologist named Dr. Richard Eggleston, who faced state sanctions after writing an article in a magazine. lewiston tribune Jaffe, the attorney, said he has questions about the coronavirus policies and death tolls reported by readers.
“We’re only interested in First Amendment issues,” Jaffe said. “A doctor may not write an article, post a blog on a website, or make a public statement even if the government or medical board believes that what the doctor says is wrong or dangerous. Does the Board of Physicians have the constitutional authority to investigate, prosecute, and sanction?
“Most other states in the country are not as advanced as Washington is. Washington is an outlier, in my opinion.” Spokesman – Review report.
Stockton, who played collegiate basketball at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., said in his lawsuit that “the U.S. Constitution’s amendment gives people the right to hear public speeches from doctors licensed in Washington with whom they disagree. He said he is fighting for all Washington residents who share his belief that they have Article 1 rights. This is the mainstream coronavirus story. ”
“I think it has to be done,” Stockton said. news nation. “This is just another violation of the right to free speech in Washington state.”
The former point guard was suspended from playing at Gonzaga in 2022 after refusing to wear a mask.
“At the end of the day, they asked me to wear a mask to the game, and being a public figure and being a little bit more visible, I stood out a little bit in the crowd. I felt that whoever the department was was going to either require me to wear a mask or suspend my ticket,” Stockton said at the time. salt lake tribune I got it.
stockton Support RFK Jr. He is expected to become president in the second half of 2023.
The lawsuit sought a declaration that the state’s policy violated the First Amendment.
Neither the Washington commission nor the attorney general’s office responded to requests for comment.
Do you like Blaze News? Avoid censorship and sign up for our newsletter to get articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. Please register here!
