This former Belleville West basketball star wants you to get your COVID shot
Former Belleville West basketball standout E.J. Liddell is encouraging people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Ohio State junior posted a video advertisement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on his Twitter earlier this month highlighting how even young athletes can have symptoms long after they contracted the virus.
“I didn’t think COVID was a big deal, but then I saw people my age, even athletes, with chest pain, shortness of breath and sore joints for months after they had COVID,” Liddell said. “I couldn’t imagine not being able to play basketball, so I got the vaccine.”
Young people continue to lag behind other populations for getting the COVID vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Liddell wrapped up his third season with the Buckeyes on Sunday, when Ohio State lost to Villanova 61-71 in the second round of the NCAA Championship. He’s expected to enter the NBA draft in lieu of playing another year of college basketball, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
As a high school athlete at Belleville West, he was named St. Louis Post-Dispatch metro area high school player of the decade and was a two-time Illinois Mr. Basketball after helping his team to Illinois state championship in his junior and senior years.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 12:36 PM.
