No evidence Bronny James, other athletes, were injured by COVID-19 vaccine | Fact check

Nate Trela, USA TODAY
·5 min read
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The claim: Post implies Bronny James, other athletes were harmed by COVID-19 vaccines

A July 25 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) implies a connection between the deaths and health issues of several athletes and an entertainer.

“Bronny James, son of LeBron, collapsed unconscious in cardiac arrest on the court at USC! But I’m suuuuuuure it had nothing to do w/ (the vaccines),” the post begins, using a syringe emoji to represent the vaccines. “AND NEITHER DID Hank Aaron, Demaryious (sic) Thomas, Deion Sanders, Marquise Goodwin, Damar Hamlin, Jamie Foxx, or hundreds (if not 1,000s) of other young athletes and 2 whom I know personally!"

Some social media users connected the health issues to COVID-19 vaccinations.

“My primary care physician told me recently, we were right for not taking the jabs," one comment read. "Lots of health issues for his patients and himself since."

The post was shared more than 300 times in a day.

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Our rating: Missing context

There's no proof to support the implied claim. No reliable source has linked the health issues or deaths of any of the people listed in the post to COVID-19 vaccines.

Athletes’ ailments not connected to vaccines

Bronny James, the 18-year-old son of NBA player LeBron James, suffered cardiac arrest during a workout with his teammates at USC on July 24. He was revived at the scene and rushed to a hospital. He was released and sent home to recuperate three days later.

In the hours after Bronny James’ hospitalization was first reported, misinformation began spreading that connected his ailment to the COVID-19 vaccine. It was the latest example of social media users tying health issues in athletes to the vaccine without evidence.

No cause has been publicly identified for the incident, but sudden cardiac arrest – where the heart abruptly loses its rhythm and stops pumping blood – is the leading cause of sports-related deaths among competitive athletes in the U.S. and has been since long before COVID-19 or its vaccines existed.

A 2020 study found that such deaths are significantly underreported in the media. That study also found that Black male NCAA Division I basketball players had the highest rate of sudden cardiac arrest and death among athletes 11 to 29 years old in the U.S.

There is no evidence that Bronny James' incident was related to the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Could it (the vaccine) be a rare cause of a rare event? Sure," Dr. Michael Ayers, a sports cardiologist at the University of Virginia Health told USA TODAY in January, when similar speculation circulated after NFL player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during a game. "It could but probabilistically that's just less likely."

Hamlin’s heart stopped seconds after he made a tackle during a Jan. 2 NFL game in Cincinnati. His incident was later attributed to Commotio cordis, a rare cardiac arrest triggered by a blow to the chest.

Fact check: Article falsely claims WHO linked myocarditis to vaccine

The Facebook post names several other celebrities who faced severe medical issues or died in recent years, implying a link to the vaccine for them as well. Most either had other conditions that account for their health issues or deaths, or had a representative who explicitly denied a tie to vaccines.

  • Hank Aaron, the former career home run leader in Major League Baseball, died in January 2021. Aaron was 86 when he died and medical experts found no evidence his death was linked to the COVID-19 vaccine.

  • Demaryius Thomas, a former NFL wide receiver died in December 2021. His cause of death was a seizure disorder, although the medical examiner did not say if it was due to natural causes or related to head injuries he sustained during his football career.

  • Sanders, a college football coach and former NFL player, has had multiple surgeries and toe amputations to address blood clots. Sanders said he first developed clots after surgery on a dislocated toe in 2021 and said there is a history in his family of issues with blood clots.

  • Goodwin, an NFL player, was sidelined this month by blood clots. No cause has been announced for his issues.

  • Foxx, an actor and musician, was rushed to the hospital in April with undisclosed medical issues. Foxx is now recuperating at home, and while no cause of his illness has been disclosed, a representative for Foxx told NBC News in June that reports linking his illness to the COVID-19 vaccine were “completely inaccurate.”

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No evidence vaccine tied to Bronny James cardiac arrest | Fact check