Nathan Brown opens up on controversial Footy Show question that saw him become ‘an ambassador for the anti-vaxxing community’
- Port Adelaide star Ollie Wines suffered heart palpitations against Melbourne
- He was withdrawn from the match and taken to hospital as a precaution
- Brown asked a panel if Wines’ condition was linked to Covid vaccines
- He became unwittingly associated with anti-vaxxers, although there is no link
AFL commentator Nathan Brown has moved to hose down allegations he is an anti-vaxxer after a question he asked on the Sunday Footy Show made him an unwitting poster boy for the no-jab community.
Last week the panel were discussing the withdrawal of Port Adelaide player Ollie Wines from a match because of heart issues. Brown asked the panel if there was a link between athletes like Wines developing heart conditions and Covid vaccines.
Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines was hospitalised during their clash with Melbourne with heart palpitations
‘Are you referring to the booster shots and the contracting of Covid?’ fellow panellist Damian Barrett said.
Brown replied, ‘That’s obviously the word going around.’
His question created an internet firestorm as anti-vaxxers clashed with pro-vaxxers and also prompted both Port Adelaide and Wines himself to confirm the heart issue was completely unrelated to the jab.
‘All I did was ask a simple question … and I asked is there any link to everything that’s going on in the world with Ollie Wines at the moment,’ Brown told Triple M’s Friday Huddle.
‘We’re hearing a lot of heart issues around the world, is there any link? And Damo said not that I know of. And that was my question.
Sunday Footy Show panellist Nathan Brown was embraced by the anti-vaxx community for asking if Ollie Wines’ heart issues were related to vaccines. He has now clarified his comments
‘As a result of that question I’ve had a lot of text messages and emails and (people) hit me up on social media saying thank you for raising awareness to our plight, so all of a sudden I’m an ambassador for the anti-vaxxing community. I’m double vaxxed myself.
‘Caro [Caroline Wilson] thought it was irresponsible, my comments that weren’t comments. It was a question and [AFL reporter] Sam McClure said he felt uncomfortable.
‘There were a few people who asked if I was going to retract my comments, it was a question, any conversation that most people have at their dinner tables at the moment, and I asked Damo a question and that was it.
‘I don’t know why Sam was uncomfortable. I got a lot of support and [abuse], both ways.’
Wines’ initial withdrawal and Brown’s consequent question created plenty of debate in the comments sections on Daily Mail Australia.
‘I wonder who at Daily Mail decided these claims had to be called shocking. They are only shocking to a minority of Covid enthusiasts who have their heads buried in the sand. To anyone who trusts their eyes and ears, it is obvious. These jabs are doing more harm than the virus,’ Robbie T of London commented.
An anonymous commentator even claimed Wines was lying about his condition, saying: ‘I hope he is okay but he needs to be truthful. He could help others in getting their issues checked instead of lying’.
‘The interview he did was so dodgy, he couldn’t look the interviewers in the face with the lies he had to repeat. Of course it’s vaccine related,’ another posted.
Vince Noir of Australia posted: ‘Everybody knows this. The death rate from ‘heart attacks’ has increased exponentially’.
There is no credible evidence linking Covid vaccines to any risk of heart attack.
However, a preliminary abstract that has not yet been peer reviewed and only studied 566 people claimed there was a link, and that has wrongly been taken as gospel by anti-vaxxers.