John Salley and Jahlil Okafor: Vegan for Health, Animals, and Their Game

Being vegan in the NBA is a shared experience for John Salley and Jahlil Okafor. Watch John—a longtime vegan and retired four-time champion—and Jahlil, relatively new to a plant-based lifestyle and current NBA player, chat about eating meat-and dairy-free as professional athletes. They met up at vegan restaurant Blackbird Pizzeria in Philadelphia and spoke about their decision to eat consciously, including how removing animals from their plate has changed their game, their bodies, their health, and even their outlook on life:

Jahlil wanted to reduce the painful inflammation in his knee: “I cut out dairy, watched a few documentaries. Then I cut out steak, cut out chicken, and gradually started cutting out [every] animal-based product, and now I’m just all-out vegan.”

John chose to be vegan nearly 30 years ago for his health: “I found out that most NBA players die of heart attack[s] or heart complications. You can’t have all that animal fat in your veins.”

What may have begun as concern for their health also became a concern for the environment and animals, with the added benefits of going vegan for professional athletes.

Do your part for your health and for animals. It’s never too early (or late) to make the kind, smart choice to eat vegan, giving your health a boost and sparing animals suffering. It’s easier than ever to stop eating meat, eggs, and dairy “products”: There are countless compassionate options in grocery stores and restaurants across the country. PETA also has hundreds of free delicious vegan recipes that you can try out!