Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins said that he still regrets his decision to get the COVID-19 vaccination despite winning an NBA Championship.
In an interview with sports-based website FanSided published Wednesday, Wiggins said it wasn’t his decision to get vaccinated against the virus, though he accomplished many personal goals last season.
“I still wish I didn’t get [vaccinated], to be honest with you,” Wiggins told FanSided. “I did it, and I was an All-Star this year and champion, so that was the good part, just not missing out on the year, the best year of my career.”
Wiggins added that he only got vaccinated so he won’t sit out games due to a San Francisco city government vaccine mandate at the time, where citizens had to show proof of vaccination to attend large indoor events, prohibiting those from attending events who show negative COVID-19 tests.
“But for my body, I just don’t like putting all that stuff in my body, so I didn’t like that and I didn’t like that it wasn’t my choice,” Wiggins said. “I didn’t like that it was either get this or don’t play.”
Wiggins made headlines last fall for being one of the few prominent NBA players, including Bradley Beal, Kyrie Irving, and Jonathan Isaac, for publicly showing their hesitancy on getting vaccinated.
Irving, whose future with the Brooklyn Nets is in limbo, was only available for road games last season due to New York City government’s indoor vaccine mandate, though the city lifted its mandate in March.
The NBA previously denied Wiggins’ request for a religious exemption from getting the COVID-19 vaccine as well.
The 27-year-old Canadian native earned his first NBA All-Star appearance last season and played a pivotal role in helping the Warriors win their first NBA championship since 2018, defeating the Boston Celtics in six games.
