Report: Former Dodgers Pitcher Tommy John Hospitalized With COVID-19, His Son Says Virus Doesn't Exist
INDIO (CBSLA) — Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tommy John is reportedly hospitalized in Indio after contracting COVID-19 in December. The Daily Beast reported Wednesday morning that the 77-year-old has been hospitalized multiple times since testing positive on Dec. 13 and is currently on oxygen.
However, despite the hospitalizations and being treated for the disease, John and his son, Tommy John III, have expressed skepticism about the virus. From the Daily Beast report:
"From his hospital bed near his home in Indio, California, the 77-year-old former Yankees pitcher told The Daily Beast he was experiencing no symptoms at all after being diagnosed during a hospitalization for a recent fall. 'I'd leave right now if they'd let me walk out,' he said on Tuesday."
The younger John, a chiropractor in San Diego, has expressed skepticism of the disease's existence since the start of the pandemic routinely on his social media pages.
There is no pandemic. Not sure if you'd heard yet. Just wanted to clear it up in case you were in a medicated mood stabilized walking coma. It's much worse than a pandemic. We need everyone to rise up and find what they're willing to fight for...especially men. I'm coming for you pic.twitter.com/RrEewA8VFP
— Dr. Tommy John (@DrTommyJohnDC) September 10, 2020
On his Facebook page, the younger John posts several times daily claiming that the pandemic doesn't exist, masks don't work and germs don't cause sickness. On Dec. 31, a little over two weeks after his father was diagnosed with COVID, the younger John posted to his page that "Not a pandemic. Never was. Covid 19 is an idea of a disease. There is no virus that causes it and all tests are meaningless for it. It doesn't mean they didn't do this for a reason."
When the Daily Beast reached out to John III for comment, he did not respond. The elder John did tell the site that he is "not a vaccine type of person" when asked whether or not he would be getting the COVID vaccine when it is made available to him.
John spent seven seasons with the Dodgers from 1972-1978, part of a 26-year major league career that spanned multiple teams. While he was with the team, he underwent the elbow surgery that now bears his name in which doctors replaced his torn ulnar collateral ligament allowing him to return to the mound and pitch another 14 seasons in the majors following the surgery.