Shawn Barber was in poor health for some time before his demise at age 29. A few conspiracy theorists have already raised their hands to say it could’ve been the vaccines.
There is no official proof that the Canadian athlete had taken the vaccine, but he was likely vaccinated.
According to a statement released by the University of Akron’s athletics department, Barber passed away at his home in Texas on Wednesday from medical complications.
Barber was a three-time NCAA championship winner with the University of Akron’s track and field team.
Shawn became a 2015 Pan American Games Gold Medalist and a finalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
His best vault was six meters, which he obtained on January 15, 2016, in Reno, Nevada, and remains the Canadian record.
Shawn Barber Health & Illness: Was He Vaccinated?
Shawn Barber was suffering from health complications before his death on Wednesday.
As reported by CNN, the Canadian athlete had fallen ill and was experiencing poor health for some time.
And as soon as the news about Barber’s death hit the social media sites, the conspiracy theorists sprung up and questioned whether the athlete was vaccinated.
It isn’t known whether Shawn was vaccinated or not. The 29-year-old has been away from the public limelight for a long time.
If he was active on social media sites, we could’ve known his stance on vaccination or whether he ever got one.
But being a professional athlete, there is a high chance that Shawn was vaccinated.
Most professional athletes are vaccinated, but there are exceptions like Novak Djokovic, Kyrie Irving, and Aaron Rodgers.
And if few believe it could be the vaccines that could’ve been the reason for Barber’s demise, then some think maybe the athlete’s 2016 story was false.
Barber Almost Banned From The Olympics
In 2016, Barber escaped a cocaine ban and was allowed to compete at the Rio Olympics despite testing positive.
The athlete said he ingested the drug during a sexual encounter with a woman.
A day before Barber was meant to compete at the Canadian Championships and Rio selection trials, he posted in the “casual encounter” section of Craigslist.
He specified he wanted to meet a woman who was drug-free and disease-free.
Barber then arranged to meet a mother of two and another man in the hotel room.
In the report, it was said that the woman had taken cocaine on the way before meeting Barber.
Shawn said he didn’t realize there was any potential to ingest drugs by kissing the woman. A few at the time called BS to Barber’s story, and now many are recalling this story.
Shawn Barber Family
The 2015 Beijing World Champion Barber is survived by his mother, Ann, father, George, and brother, David Barber. Barber remained unmarried and had no kids.
In 2017, the athlete even came out as gay. He had announced he was gay through a Facebook post. He wrote, “Gay and proud!”
“Thank you to my parents for being such a great support. I continue to grow as a person and have a great support group.
My parents are my greatest support and have helped me through a lot. To my friends, you are always my friends, and I love you too!”
Shawn was born in New Mexico and held dual Canadian-American citizenship as his father was born in Ontario, Canada.
George also previously competed in the pole vault at the 1983 World Championships.
Barber never talked much about his family with the media.
But in 2015, CBC Sports learned about Shawn’s father, George’s 2007 criminal conviction on charges of having a sexual relationship with a student while he was employed at a US High School.
The Athletic’s Canada memo dated November 5, 2015, stated that George was no longer a member in good standing.
When CBC Sports asked Shawn for comment he said, “Athletics Canada did what they felt they had to do.”
“My dad never held an official position with Athletics Canada, so it’s really a non-issue. My father has always been supportive of me, and I’m sure he will continue to be my biggest fan and support me in whatever I choose to do.”
