'It just has to be done': NBA legend John Stockton sues Washington state over COVID censorship with RFK Jr. as his lawyer

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 went against "the mainstream Covid narrative."

Stockton is joined in the lawsuit by doctors who faced sanctions from the state and names Washington Medical Commission Executive Director Kyle S. Karinen and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson as defendants. Stockton's lawyers 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 right of the public to hear their message," the lawsuit stated, according to USA Today. "The goal is to stop the Commission from investigating, prosecuting or sanctioning physicians who speak out in public against the so-called 'mainstream Covid narrative' i.e., the succession of public health edicts put out by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and repeated by the primary news outlets, which has caused the public to lose trust in the public health authorities, which has caused the CDC to repeatedly apologize and promise to do better."

Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit started by RFK Jr., is also reportedly listed as a plaintiff.

Other plaintiffs included a retired ophthalmologist named Dr. Richard Eggleston who faced state sanctions after he wrote an article in the Lewiston Tribune questioning COVID policies and death tolls, which was reported by a reader, attorney Jaffe stated.

"The only thing we’re interested in is the First Amendment issue," Jaffe said. "Does the medical board have the constitutional authority to investigate, prosecute, and sanction doctors for writing articles, posting blogs on websites, and speaking out in public, even if the government or the medical board thinks what they’re saying is wrong or dangerous?"

"Most other states in the country don’t go as far as Washington. In my view, Washington is an outlier," he added, the Spokesman-Review reported.

Stockton, who played college basketball at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, said in the lawsuit that he was fighting for all Washingtonians who share his belief that "people have the First Amendment right to hear the public soapbox speech of Washington licensed physicians who disagree with the mainstream COVID narrative."

"I think it just has to be done," Stockton told News Nation. "It's just another intrusion in Washington state on our right to freedom of speech."

The former point guard was suspended from attending games at Gonzaga in 2022 after he refused to wear a mask.

"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. ... They received complaints and felt like from whatever the higher-ups ... they were going to have to either ask me to wear a mask or they were going to suspend my tickets," Stockton said at the time, the Salt Lake Tribune noted.

Stockton endorsed RFK Jr. for president in late 2023, as well.

The lawsuit asked for a declaration that the state's policy violated the First Amendment.

Neither the Washington commission nor the attorney general's office responded to a request for comment.

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