Elon Musk slammed over anti-vax claims after LeBron son’s cardiac arrest

Elon Musk is facing backlash after appearing to link the cardiac arrest of 18-year-old basketball player Bronny James to claims of deadly side effects from coronavirus vaccines pushed by conspiracy theorists.

The Twitter CEO, who recently rebranded the platform to X, has faced criticism from doctors, fact-checkers and commentators after noting that myocarditis—an inflammation of the heart’s muscle tissue—is a “known side-effect” of the jab, and questioning whether it was a “rare or common” one.

LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., the son of NBA star LeBron James, was rushed to the hospital after experiencing cardiac arrest on Monday while practicing at the University of Southern California. He was later released from intensive care in a stable condition.

The claim that COVID-19 vaccines contain properties that elevate the chance of death is often made by groups opposed to vaccination and is used in conspiracy theories concerning supposed population control.

Medical events such as heart attacks have occurred among a small number of people who have been vaccinated against coronavirus, but research by health agencies around the world has found that these incidents are far less common than those among patients infected with the virus itself.

“We cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine, but, by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing,” Musk tweeted in response to news of James’s cardiac arrest on Tuesday, in a post that has since been viewed 3.8 million times. “Myocarditis is a known side-effect. The only question is whether it is rare or common.”

Newsweek reached out to Musk for comment via email on Wednesday.

A May 2022 study in the British Medical Journal found that male adolescents and young adults are at the highest risk of myocarditis after receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations, such as those produced by Pfizer or Moderna, with an estimated 140 cases per million people among the group. The prevalence of the condition is thought to be lower in other categories.

Responding to Musk’s tweet, Dr. Matthew Martinez, director of sports cardiology at the Atlantic Health System in New Jersey, told CNN: “Myocarditis is definitely a cause of sudden death in young athletes, but not a common threat.”

Noting that the coronavirus itself was far more likely to cause myocarditis than the vaccine, he added: “Myocarditis occurred before COVID. Myocarditis will occur after COVID.”

Meanwhile, sports commentator Bob Costas told the news network: “Generally speaking, there are people who are inclined toward believing that the vaccine is some sort of devil’s potion, and ascribing everybody who has a health episode subsequent to vaccination…to vaccines.”

“We live in a world now where anything you don’t want to be true doesn’t have to be true, with a mountain of evidence and a choir of angels attesting to it,” he added, “and anything you do want to be true, well you don’t need that much evidence.”

“Elon Musk appears to be claiming without a shred of evidence that Bronny James’s cardiac arrest is linked to the Covid vaccine,” tweeted Shayan Sadarizadeh, a journalist at BBC Verify whose work covers disinformation and conspiracy theories.

However, some users agreed with Musk’s suggestion, arguing that the “truth is coming out” and that criticism of the billionaire entrepreneur’s remarks was a “smear tactic.”

It is not the first time that the coronavirus vaccine has been linked to the health of a basketball player; in June the death of 28-year-old Dominican player Óscar Cabrera Adames in an apparent heart attack while exercising sparked fresh theories that it was linked to his vaccination.

James’ incident is also reminiscent of the cardiac arrest of NFL player Damar Hamlin, who collapsed during a Buffalo Bills game in Cincinnati in January. That medical episode also prompted claims that it was linked to COVID-19 vaccination.

In a statement to ESPN on Tuesday, James’ family called for “respect and privacy” and said they would provide further updates “when there is more information.”