Matt Poole, Kelly Slater, Trevor Hendy firey online Covid vaccine dispute
The biggest name in surfing Kelly Slater has hit back at a Gold Coast athlete sharing his opinions on the Covid-19 vaccine. WHAT WAS SAID
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GOLD Coast athlete Matt Poole has sparked a social media storm with fellow sport stars including legendary surfer Kelly Slater and former Ironman Trevor Hendy.
The successful Ironman who is with influencer Tammy Hembrow and co-operates Burleigh restaurant Maman, started a heated debate about Covid-19 vaccine mandates on Instagram.
Ironman Poole shared his pro-vaccination opinion when he commented on the Summer of Surf Instagram post asking people to get jabbed.
In reply to a comment from former Australian professional surf lifesaver Hendy, Poole commented: “The next time I head down to Surfers I’m going to jump in the rip because “freedom of choice” – Trev you understand that – you just said you can’t dictate to me what is or isn’t potentially dangerous…
“It’s no issue for me, but as soon as I start telling others there is no danger in the rip, they’ll jump in too, and tell their mates and before you know it, there is a 100 of us in there. But Trev – that’s our choice.
“Now some of the 100 get in trouble, and lifesavers come to save them… putting those lifesavers in danger as well.
“Now 50 are drowning and the lifesavers are overrun, and can’t save them all or themselves….
But that was our choice.
“It’s not freedom of choice if it impacts others – it’s about helping others.”
The response gained hundreds of mixed replies including support from close mate and fellow Ironman Matt Bevilacqua.
Most noticeably Kelly Slater fired back commenting an explanation why Poole’s analogy made “no sense” and was “apples and oranges”.
“If I know the risks (informed consent) and I judge the choice to be one that benefits/hurts me based on stats and info and my own ability (health), I can choose accordingly,” Slater replied.
“If something happens to me it’s on me, not someone else. Your argument is a false equivalence.”
Slater went on to describe Covid-19 as a disease for “obese, unhealthy, and elderly” and claiming he knows “more about being healthy than 99 per cent of doctors but I wouldn’t trust me.”
The 11-time world surf champion – who will be 50 for next year’s competitions at Bells Beach’s Rip Curl Pro and Western Australia’s Margaret River Pro in April and May – risks missing the events if he remains unvaccinated.
It is understood WSL is still in discussions with both the Victorian and WA governments about the exact protocols the surfers.
Poole’s partner Ms Hembrow had her own vaccination opinions questioned in September when she hit back at a fan’s claims she is an anti-vaxxer, saying she was booked to get a Covid jab in two weeks.
It came after her close friends and social media couple Chloe Szepanowski and Mitchell Orval received backlash over their vaccination views.
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