“It’s an extremely unfortunate situation. Obviously my teammates know how I feel about them and how bad I want to be out there with them. But it’s just an unfortunate that I’m not able to make the trip.
“I’m a healthy 31-year-old professional athlete that I just didn’t feel the need to get it. I’ve had COVID a couple times and super mild symptoms back when I first came out.
“When it came time to decide whether I needed the vaccine or not, talking with a couple doctors that I knew and told them my story and just really decided I didn’t think I needed it.
“I wasn’t going to take it just ‘cause I was told to basically. I’m not gonna let Canada tell me what to put in my body for a little bit of money.” – Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto.
“I’m not going to let Canada tell me what I do and don’t put in my body.”
Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto is forfeiting over $250,000 for not complying with Canada’s vaccine mandate and travelling to Canada to play the Toronto Blue Jays. pic.twitter.com/bJp9vuhn9r
— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) July 12, 2022