[[{“value”:”NBA legend and Hall-of-Famer John Stockton has sued Washington state officials for allegedly censoring free speech of doctors who spoke out against the mainstream COVID-19 narrative.
The lawsuit names Washington Medical Commission Executive Director Kyle S. Karinen and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson as defendants.
Stockton and other plaintiffs are challenging the state’s policy to discipline doctors who spread alleged misinformation.
They “argue the state’s disciplinary policy for doctors spreading COVID misinformation is unconstitutional and doctors’ free-speech rights were violated because they spoke ‘against the mainstream COVID narrative,’” NewsNation reports.
The Blaze noted independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of Stockton’s lawyers.
‘It just has to be done’: NBA legend John Stockton sues Washington state over COVID censorship with RFK Jr. as his lawyer https://t.co/7PLqfVLbrY pic.twitter.com/70vAVO5O6C
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 18, 2024
“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 states, 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,” it added.
The Blaze reports:
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.
God bless @12Johnstockton
Basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton sues Washington officials in defense of doctors | Fox News https://t.co/BKjNcVWXdt
— Nick Searcy, iNSURRECTIONAL FILM & TELEVISION STAR (@yesnicksearcy) March 16, 2024
Per Fox News:
Stockton, who got his Gonzaga season tickets suspended over the school’s mask mandate in 2022, joined “Fox & Friends First” alongside one of his attorneys, Rick Jaffe, to discuss why he filed suit and what is at stake regarding Americans’ First Amendment rights.
“I think it’s pretty simple. It’s freedom. Even though we talk about medical freedom and things, it’s freedom and freedom to speak. It’s our First Amendment,” the longtime Utah Jazz point guard told Todd Piro when asked what the ultimate goal is.
“It’s really important… to our government and the lives that we’ve come to love in the United States of America.
“So if the doctors can’t speak… these brilliant people that we have in our culture, can’t speak when they know truths, their truths, and now we’re deprived of that opportunity to hear… the… wisdom they have to share, I think that’s a big deal,” he continued.
The suit claims the defendants investigated, prosecuted, and/or sanctioned approximately 60 physicians since September 2021.
Additionally, the commission allegedly punished a doctor who prescribed Washington-based patients ivermectin.
WATCH:
NBA legend John Stockton is part of a new lawsuit against Washington state officials who cracked down on COVID misinformation from doctors. Rick Jaffe, one of Stockton’s attorneys on the case, said it’s ultimately about free speech. | Morning in America
Source: NewsNation… pic.twitter.com/iSTARiRcVv
— Camus (@newstart_2024) March 17, 2024
From NewsNation:
Eggleston, a retired ophthalmologist, is being investigated by the Washington Medical Commission for what the suit calls “the public dissemination of information contrary to the government-approved COVID narrative,” according to KXLY.
Eggleston had an active medical license when his opinion columns were published in the Lewiston Tribune questioning the existence of COVID-19 and the accuracy of COVID-19 death counts.
The Washington Medical Commission served notice on COVID misinformation in 2021, warning that “treatments and recommendations regarding this disease that fall below standard of care as established by medical experts, federal authorities and legitimate medical research are potentially subject to disciplinary action.”
The commission disciplined an Illinois doctor who, via telemedicine, prescribed four Washington patients ivermectin.
Jaffe said the suit is ultimately about free speech, suggesting the courts would decide that the government has “no rule” in stopping licensed medical professionals from “voicing their opinion on public.”
“If the medical commission wants to say you can’t prescribe ivermectin, that’s sort of within the heartland of what medical boards can do,” he said. “But in this country, we do not have a tradition or a history of sanctioning people, professionals, for speaking out in public against what the government says is true doctrine. This is the first time they’ve ever tried to do this.””}]] [[{“value”:”
NBA legend John Stockton, a Hall-of-Famer and NBA Hall-of-Famer, has sued Washington officials for allegedly censoring the free speech of doctors that spoke out against mainstream COVID-19 narrative. The lawsuit names Washington Medical Commission Executive director Kyle S. Karinen, and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, as defendants. Stockton, along with other plaintiffs, are challenging the state policy of disciplining doctors who spread misinformation. NewsNation reports that they “argue that the state’s policy of disciplining doctors who spread COVID misinformation was unconstitutional, and doctors’ freedom-of-speech rights had been violated because doctors spoke ‘against mainstream COVID narrative’.” The Blaze reported that Stockton is represented by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate. ‘It just has to be done’: NBA legend John Stockton sues Washington state over COVID censorship with RFK Jr. as his lawyer https://t.co/7PLqfVLbrY pic.twitter.com/70vAVO5O6C — TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 18, 2024 “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 states, according to USA Today. The lawsuit states that the purpose of the lawsuit is to prevent the Commission from investigating or prosecuting physicians who speak publicly against the “mainstream Covid narrative” i.e. the succession public health edicts issued by the CDC and repeated by primary news outlets. This has caused public distrust in the public authorities and has caused the CDC repeatedly to apologize and promise to improve. The Blaze reports that Children’s Health Defense is listed as a defendant. This nonprofit was founded by RFK Jr. Attorney Jaffe said that a retired ophthalmologist, Dr. Richard Eggleston, was also a plaintiff. He faced state sanctions for writing an article in Lewiston Tribune, questioning COVID’s policies and death statistics, which a reader reported. Jaffe stated that “the only thing we are interested in is the First Amendment question.” “Does a medical board have constitutional authority to investigate and prosecute doctors who write articles, post blogs on websites and speak out in public even if they think what they are saying is wrong or harmful?” The Spokesman-Review reported that he believes Washington is a unique state. God bless @12Johnstockton Basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton sues Washington officials in defense of doctors | Fox News https://t.co/BKjNcVWXdt — Nick Searcy, iNSURRECTIONAL FILM & TELEVISION STAR (@yesnicksearcy) March 16, 2024 Per Fox News: Stockton, who got his Gonzaga season tickets suspended over the school’s mask mandate in 2022, joined “Fox & Friends First” alongside one of his attorneys, Rick Jaffe, to discuss why he filed suit and what is at stake regarding Americans’ First Amendment rights. “I think it is pretty simple. It’s freedom. It’s freedom. Todd Piro asked the Utah Jazz point guard what the ultimate goal was. He replied, “It’s our First Amendment.” It’s important… for our government and to the lives we’ve come love in the United States of America. “So, if these brilliant people in our culture can’t talk, they can’t share their truths and we’re deprived from that opportunity to hear…the… wisdom they can share, I think this is a big issue,” he continued. The suit alleges that the defendants have investigated, prosecuted and/or sanctioned 60 physicians since September 20,21. The commission also allegedly punished a Washington-based doctor who prescribed ivermectin to patients. Watch: NBA legend John Stockton has joined a lawsuit against Washington officials who have cracked down on doctors’ misinformation about COVID. Rick Jaffe, Stockton’s attorney, said that the case is ultimately about freedom of speech. Morning in AmericaSource: NewsNation… pic.twitter.com/iSTARiRcVv — Camus (@newstart_2024) March 17, 2024 From NewsNation: Eggleston, a retired ophthalmologist, is being investigated by the Washington Medical Commission for what the suit calls “the public dissemination of information contrary to the government-approved COVID narrative,” according to KXLY. Eggleston was a licensed physician when his opinion pieces were published in Lewiston Tribune, questioning COVID-19’s existence and the accuracy of COVID-19 deaths. Washington Medical Commission issued a warning in 2021 about COVID misinformation, warning that “treatments or recommendations regarding this illness that fall below the standard of care established by medical experts and federal authorities, as well as legitimate medical research, are potentially subject to discipline action.” The Washington Medical Commission disciplined an Illinois physician who, via telemedicine prescribed ivermectin to four Washington patients. Jaffe said that the lawsuit is about free speech. He suggested that the courts would rule that the government does not have a “rule” that prevents licensed medical professionals from “voicing an opinion in public.” “But this country does not have a history or tradition of sanctioning professionals for speaking out publicly against what the government claims is true doctrine. This is the first attempt to do so.
“}]]
