US Olympic Swimmer Claims He’s Representing America’s ‘Freedoms’ by Refusing Covid Vaccine

Last week, organizers of the Tokyo Olympics announced fans would be barred from the games after the city declared a coronavirus state of emergency. Despite the risk, some athletes are choosing to attend the Summer Games without being vaccinated.

One of those athletes is US swimmer Michael Andrew. After publicly stating he plans to compete at the Tokyo Olympics unvaccinated, Andrew joined Stuart Varney on Fox Business to discuss his decision.

“I’m an elite athlete. Everything we take and put in our body is very calculated. You know, with the period going into Olympic trials, I didn’t want to risk any time out of the pool,” Andrew said on Varney & Co.

“The fact that the effectiveness of the vaccine is lower than the risk of me getting Covid, I just realized it wasn’t quite necessary and wasn’t smart on my part in terms of preparation going into the games,” the swimmer claimed.

Varney reminded Andrew that without the vaccine, he still faces the risk of him getting Covid which could deny the gold medal favorite an opportunity at competing altogether.

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take, obviously there’s fear involved and there’s nerves behind the decision and it’s something I don’t take lightly,” Andrew answered.

“But I am grateful for the freedoms I have as an American, getting to represent the greatest country on earth. Going to the games not only unvaccinated, but as an American, I’m representing my country in multiple ways and the freedoms we have to make a decision like that.”

Even though he believes he’s representing his country’s freedoms, many Americans are unhappy with Andrew’s decision. According to the Olympic swimmer, in addition to support, he’s received plenty of backlash.

“This is the first time I really received, I guess, like hate messages kind of things. It’s been pretty interesting,” Andrew said.

Watch above via, Fox Business