Dr. Fauci Vows To 'Destroy' MSNBC Host On Basketball Court

WASHINGTON, DC — He's helped the nation conquer the coronavirus pandemic, but does he have game on a basketball court? Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious diseases expert, challenged MSNBC host Chris Hayes, who is almost half his age, to a one-on-one game of basketball on Tuesday night.

Fauci, who captained the Regis High School basketball team in the late 1950s, said “if you’re vaccinated, and I’m vaccinated, we can play a pickup game tomorrow.” The 80-year-old scientist and immunologist issued the challenge on the “All In With Chris Hayes” show.

“I’ll probably destroy you, but that’s OK. But we could play a pickup game tomorrow,” Fauci said as he pledged to school Hayes on the basketball court.

Earlier in the program, Hayes had mentioned one of the things he misses most is playing pickup games at the local gym.

“Famous Regis point guard, Anthony Fauci, talking that trash as I’m sure he did back on the mean streets of Brooklyn, the gyms of Regis High School,” Hayes said in response to Fauci's challenge.

Fauci received his first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in late December and then got his second dose four weeks later in January. Two weeks ago, Hayes, 42, posted a video on Instagram of him dancing after receiving his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

With both fully vaccinated and the passage of two weeks since Hayes’ second dose, the two should be properly protected to go one-on-one on the court and see if Fauci still has his skills when he played starting point guard for Regis High School in Manhattan.

Hayes had invited Fauci onto his show to discuss the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new guidance on mask-wearing, not basketball. Federal officials said Tuesday that fully vaccinated Americans do not need to cover their faces anymore when they are outside unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.