It goes without saying that Bo Jackson wants you to wear a face mask to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
That’s the message from a public service announcement featuring the Auburn icon released by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday.
In the public service announcement, the former Tigers All-American puts on a face mask and then asks, “Do I really need to say it?”
The public service announcement was released in conjunction with an Ivey press conference, during which the governor extended the request for Alabama’s Safer at Home until 5 p.m. CDT on July 31.
The order requires entertainment venues, gyms, child care facilities, and close contact service providers to follow social distancing guidelines and sanitation standards and, in most cases, wear masks. It also limits retail stores to a 50 percent occupancy rate and reduces table seating in restaurants.
The cities of Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma along with Jefferson County currently require people to wear masks in public places.
Dr. Michael Chang, medical director of USA Health, told John Sharp of AL.com that wearing a face mask, keeping 6 feet of physical distance, and frequent hand washing are the basis for stopping the spread of the coronavirus.
“Masking is absolutely key,” said Chang. “It is a part of a three legged stool. Protects the user and the people to whom it is exposed. Strict hand washing is also important and maintaining that 6-foot social distance. Those three things working together … cumulative is more effective than (doing any of those three) individually. “
Jackson also appears in another public service announcement released Tuesday with Alabama celebrities, including Alabama football coach Nick Saban and former Auburn and NBA star Charles Barkley, urging residents of the state to wear facial masks.
A staging star at McAdory, Jackson was an All-American consensus in 1983 and an unanimous All-American runner in 1985, when he became the second winner of the Auburn Heisman Trophy. Jackson was inducted into the college football hall of fame in 1998.
The first player chosen in the 1986 NFL Draft, Jackson sidestepped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to play professional baseball. He played in eight major league seasons and played in the 1989 MLB All-Star Game.
Jackson returned to football as a “hobby” with the Los Angeles Raiders of the NFL in 1987. He played part seasons for the next four years, earning an invitation to the Pro Bowl in 1990.
BO JACKSON’S PROJECT IN THE TOP 100 OF NFL HISTORY
A hip injury sustained in a playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 13, 1991, ended his soccer career, missed a full season of baseball, and limited him to two more seasons in the major leagues.
His prowess in dual sport led Nike to feature Jackson in a series of long-running “Bo Knows” commercials for the company’s apparel and sports teams.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ AMarkG1.
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