NBA Star Andrew Wiggins Hopes Others ‘Keep Fighting’ After He Felt ‘Forced’ to Get Vaccinated: ‘You Don’t Own Your Body’
More than 95 percent of NBA players have been vaccinated against Covid, but many of them did so reluctantly while continuing to express distrust in the jab.
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins was among the most curious holdouts considering San Francisco’s indoor vaccine mandate. The NBA has not mandated the vaccine for its players, but city protocols were set to bar Wiggins from entering the Warriors home arena on game day.
After having his request for a religious exemption declined, Wiggins gave in and got vaccinated, just as all of his Warriors teammates already did.
“I feel like my only option was to get vaccinated or not play in the NBA,” Wiggins told reporters this week. “It feels good to play, but getting vaccinated, that’s going to be something that stays in my mind for a long time. It’s not something I wanted to do, but – I was kind of forced.”
Wiggins, who would have been eligible to play in road games for the Warriors if he continued to refuse the vaccine, would have lost half of his near $30 million salary by sitting out the team’s home contests.
“I guess you don’t own your body,” Wiggins continued. “That’s what it comes down to. If you want to work in society today, then I guess they made the rules of what goes in your body and what you do. Hopefully, there’s a lot of people out there that are stronger than me and keep fighting and stand for what they believe, and hopefully, it works out for them.”
Among those who are still fighting is Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who is similarly staring at a significant financial loss because New York City vaccine mandates will bar him from entering the Barclays Center for home games.
The Warriors star acknowledged part of his resistance to the vaccine was that he already had Covid and “it wasn’t too bad.” Wiggins also stated he previously had an allergic reaction to Tylenol, which was “scary,” and causes him to now carry an EpiPen.
But according to the 26-year-old NBA forward, his biggest hesitation stemmed from uncertainty surrounding the long-term effects of the vaccine and whether it can “cause gene damage” or “cancerous cells.”
“Most importantly is just, I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Wiggins said. “What it’s gonna do to my body in 10, 15, 20 years, or do to my kids, future kids.”
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