Goodwin, who recently turned 26, said that shortly after getting the vaccine, he got sick and never fully recovered from it. He experienced constant back pain and was extremely tired in games. In his team’s back-to-back games in April against the Philadelphia 76ers, he said he felt like he couldn't even run up and down the basketball court; when his back pain continued to get worse, he decided to see a doctor and found out that he had blood clots. This all occurred within the space of a month.
Speaking in a video he posted to Twitch, Goodwin made it clear that he felt that the vaccine was responsible for this scary condition.
“I was fine until then. I was fine up until I took the vaccine, I was fine. People trying to tell you, ‘No. It’s not the vaccine.’ How do you know? You don’t know. Yes, the vaccine ended my season. One thousand percent.”
He said the Hawks called him to tell him his season was over, and he was told by the NBA not to discuss the matter. He said he was not allowed to continue playing because he needed to take blood thinners; when the situation improved, he asked to return to play but was denied.
Another NBA player who has made headlines related to the vaccine is Kyrie Irving, who is now ineligible to play in NBA home games with the Brooklyn Nets in New York over his refusal to get the jab. The team has also banned him from practicing with them.
Irving is giving up roughly half of his $35 million salary by sitting out the home games, but he stands behind his decision.
“I am doing what's best for me. I know the consequences here and if it means that I'm judged and demonized for that, that's just what it is," he said.
He added: "It's not always about the money. It's about choosing what's best for you."
Tennis players rejecting COVID-19 vaccines
Goodwin isn’t the only athlete to see his career compromised due to COVID-19 vaccine side effects. Tennis pro Jeremy Chardy had to end his season early due to complications from the Pfizer jab, which he received in the time between the Olympics and the U.S. Open. He said he has been suffering from problems such as movement-limiting pain since getting the jab that make it impossible for him to train and play competitively.
“I don’t know what to do,” he stated. “The problem is that we have no hindsight on the vaccine. There are people who had similar [side-effects], but the durations [of the issues] were really different.”
He said he regrets getting the vaccine and may even end up having to retire because of the damage. He said: “I turn 35 in February so for the moment I’m maybe a little bit negative, but this is the first time the idea that next season might be my last has crossed my mind. I’m thinking about it… It’s difficult because I was enjoying myself and I wanted to play longer.”
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has said that he is personally opposed to the vaccine and may even sit out the Australian Open if getting the jab is a requirement for participation; number 2 ranked Daniil Medvedev has also said that he is not going to get the jab for medical reasons.
Being in optimum health is essential for success in sports, so it’s not surprising to see so many athletes expressing concerns about the vaccine’s side effects and trying so hard to avoid it. How many athletes have already suffered from severe vaccine side effects but were told, like Goodwin, not to talk about it?
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