Pro basketball player’s death sparks COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories

The recent death of Dominican professional basketball player Óscar Cabrera Adames has sparked discussion after a social media post resurfaced in which he blamed his heart issues on a COVID-19 vaccine.

Dominican sports journalist Hector Gomez was among the first to share the news of Cabrera Adames’ widely reported death, writing in an Instagram post on June 22 that the 28-year-old died following an apparent heart attack during a stress test in Santo Domingo. It was not clear whether the stress test caused the heart attack.

A stress test, also called a stress exercise test, shows how the heart functions during physical activity, according to the Mayo Clinic. During the test, electrodes are usually attached to the patient’s chest, with a machine recording the electrical activity.

Cabrera Adames, who played basketball at Daytona State College in Florida, is believed to have had the heart condition myocarditis. According to the American Heart Association, the condition can weaken the heart and reduce its ability to pump blood, making strenuous physical activity potentially fatal.

As news of Cabrera Adames’ death circulated, journalist Gomez shared a screenshot of a Facebook comment attributed to Cabrera Adames, in which he blamed his medical issues on having received a COVID vaccine as a work requirement.

“I got a damn Myocarditis from taking a f****** vaccine. (I got 2 doses of Pfizer) and I knew it! Many people warned me,” read the comment, which was written in Spanish and Gomez said was posted on January 12, 2022.

“But guess what? It was compulsory or I couldn’t work,” the post continued. “I am an international professional athlete and I am playing in Spain. I have no health problem, nothing, not hereditary, no asthma, NOTHING! I suddenly collapsed to the ground in the middle of a match and almost died. I’m still recovering and I’ve had 11 different cardiology tests done and guess? They find nothing.”

Responding to the allegations, a spokesperson for Pfizer told Newsweek: “Pfizer is aware of rare reports of myocarditis and pericarditis in recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Hundreds of millions people globally have been vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and a causal link to the vaccine has not been established.

“Serious adverse events unrelated to vaccination will likely occur at a similar rate in vaccinated individuals as they would in the overall population. With a vast number of people vaccinated to date, the benefit risk profile of our vaccine remains positive.

“CDC [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] continues to recommend COVID-19 vaccinations for individuals aged 12 or older.”

Cabrera Adames collapsed during a Spanish Amateur Basketball League game in 2021. Video footage of the moment was shared on Twitter, where his purported claims about COVID vaccines were amplified.

“RIP Oscar Cabrera,” one Twitter user captioned the footage. “You may remember him from collapsing in this video. He was forced to get vaccinated in order to keep his job and contracted myocarditis. I’m past the point of caring how you feel about this, you should be pushing back and demanding action on it. Period.”

Also expressing an aversion to COVID vaccines, another asked: “Are you ready to stop taking boosters? “Are you ready to hold your government accountable?

Amid the wave of comments pushing the idea that COVID vaccines are dangerous, other Twitter users pushed back on the claims.

“Glad you didn’t use the term ‘Died Suddenly’ since this happened in 2021,” wrote one, in response to video of Cabrera Adames collapsing. “I remember something similar happened in the 1980s (long before Covid 19) to another pro-baller, Len Bias. I know you ‘feel’ like the jab caused it, but let’s wait for the autopsy?”

Two days after he was selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, rising star Bias died aged 22 from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose. Illegal drugs have not been implicated in Cabrera Adames death.

Following the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, officials across the globe worked quickly to curb its spread. Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson were able to develop vaccines that have been administered to millions of Americans, according to the CDC.

In the months following the roll out of the vaccines, some cases of myocarditis and pericarditis, inflammation of the lining around the heart, appeared in adolescent males.

“Myocarditis and pericarditis have rarely been reported. When reported, the cases have especially been in adolescents and young adult males within several days after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna),” the CDC stated.

According to the CDC, cases of myocarditis and pericarditis are most common after the second dose of an mRNA vaccine and usually occur within a week of receiving it.

Since the COVID-19 vaccines were introduced two years ago, skeptics have baselessly pushed the idea that the deaths of some celebrities have been linked to them, including that of musician Lisa Marie Presley, who passed away in January.

Comedian Bob Saget, actress Betty White and rapper DMX were also subject to speculative posthumous claims that they had been vaccinated shortly before their deaths. These claims were made without evidence.

Despite the claims made following Cabrera Adames’ death, the CDC states: “The known risks of COVID-19 illness and its related, possibly severe complications, such as long-term health problems, hospitalization, and even death, far outweigh the potential risks of having a rare adverse reaction to vaccination, including the possible risk of myocarditis or pericarditis.”

Moreover, multiple research studies have also found that the risk of myocarditis is higher after an infection from COVID-19 than after a vaccination for it.

Update 6/26/23, 11:40 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a statement from Pfizer.