“I’ll never believe Tom Brady took the vaccine” – Jason Whitlock
Vaccine conspiracies are back in the news thanks to Bronny James' cardiac arrest, and NFL analyst Jason Whitlock has dragged Tom Brady into the debate. Many have taken this opportunity, as they did with Damar Hamlin's accident, to push anti-vaccination theories regarding the medical issues these healthy athletes are facing.
When asked about Sierra Canyon, James' high school, requiring students to be vaccinated, Whitlock said that he didn't believe LeBron or Brady, the faces of their sports, ever took the shot.
Does Tom Brady believe in vaccines?
Whitlock pointed out that fake vaccination cards were pretty cheap, especially for a star athlete. It would have been no problem for either James or Brady, in the eyes of Whitlock, to get one. Thus, he doesn't believe, and evidently never will, that Brady took the COVID-19 shot.
This may not be true. While it's technically impossible to prove that someone took it if they can get a fake card, Brady has been a proponent of the shot before. A Yahoo! Sports report suggested that the legendary quarterback was pushing it for teammates.
He, a notorious health fanatic who was on an extreme diet and regimen his entire career, said that it would help their health and other employment opportunities. A Tampa Bay Buccaneers player reportedly said he preached the vaccine and begged players to take it routinely during that season.
Then-head coach Bruce Arians was also a big proponent of the vaccine. The two combined to push a lot of Buccaneers into getting the shot.
The NFL has also estimated that about 94% of players have taken the vaccine. About 80% of those players got it at team health facilities, so the league does not believe fake cards are an issue like Whitlock would suggest.
It's very important to note that what Jason Whitlock is saying is unfounded. There is no evidence to suggest that LeBron James or Tom Brady have fake vaccine cards. There's also no evidence to suggest that the vaccine has caused the cardiac arrests in athletes.