Gonzaga University suspended the season tickets of alumni John Stockton after the NBA Hall of Famer failed to comply with the school's basketball games mask mandate, the Spokesman-Review first reported.
Driving the news: "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," the former Utah Jazz point guard told the outlet in an interview Saturday.
- "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."
The big picture: Stockton has previously spoken out against pandemic measures including mask mandates and lockdowns.
- He recently appeared in a documentary featuring commentators "known for spreading" pandemic misinformation, CNN notes.
What they're saying: Gonzaga University has not directly commented on the cancellation of Stockton's season tickets. But the school based in Spokane, Washington, said in a statement to news outlets: "Attendees at basketball games are required to wear face masks at all times."
