NBA's Andrew Wiggins said he was 'forced' to get vaccine, says people no longer 'own' their bodies

Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins says that he felt forced to take the COVID-19 vaccine and that, in doing so, made him feel that he no longer owned his body.

What are the details?

According to a Monday TMZ report, the Warriors forward told the media that he felt like the NBA in conjunction with the government "forced" him into getting vaccinated against the coronavirus.

"The only options were to get vaccinated or not play in the NBA," he said. "It was a tough decision. Hopefully, it works out in the long run and in 10 years I'm still healthy."

Wiggins, who initially attempted to circumvent the NBA policy by applying for a religious exemption, added that he was an unwilling participant.

"It's not something I wanted to do," he insisted. "But I was kind of forced to. ... I guess to do certain stuff — to work and all that — I guess you don't own your body. That's what it comes down to. You want to work in society today, then I guess they make the rules on what goes in your body and what you do."

Wiggins added that he hopes there are players down the road who continue to fight for what he — and presumably, they — believe.

"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," he said.

Wiggins also explained that he previously contracted COVID-19 and said that the respiratory infection "wasn't too bad."

What else?

The forward, who has a history of allergic reactions, said that he has to carry around an EpiPen in case he comes into contact with something that triggers an anaphylactic reaction, and worried that he might have a negative response to the shot.

"I know a lot of people get reactions or injuries from getting the vaccination, so I don't know what it's going to do to me in 10 years," he explained. "I feel like I could go on for days about why I didn't want to get it. Most importantly, I don't know what's going to happen or what it's going to do to my body in 10, 20 years. ... But I guess it's something that had to get done."

He said that the only reactions he experienced following the injection were typical body aches and chills.

"[COVID-19 vaccination is] not really something we believe in as a family," Wiggins explained, noting that he is the only person in his family to be vaccinated against the disease. "They know that I had to. It came down to get the vaccination or don't play basketball. I'm 26. I have two kids. I want more kids. I'm trying to do something that will generate as much money as I can for my kids and my future kids, [create] generational wealth. So, I took the gamble, took the risk, and hopefully, I'm good."

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