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24-Year-Old BYU Center Richard Harward Announces He’s Stepping Away From Basketball Due to Heart Condition


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BYU senior center Richard Harward expected to be a major contributor in the team’s talented frontcourt rotation this season.

After transferring from Utah Valley University, the 24-year-old big man averaged 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in his first season with the Cougars last year.

Harward expected to become BYU’s starting center this season and increase his production on the floor.

Sadly, Harward’s aspirations for the 2021-2022 season came to a sudden halt after he collapsed on the court in an exhibition game against Colorado Christian on November 4th.

Watch the frightening footage below:

https://twitter.com/wakeupfromcovid/status/1471510525410525185

Harward reportedly suffered from severe heart inflammation and blood clots.

After the scary scene from the exhibition game, the 6’11” Orem, Utah native expected to miss an undisclosed amount of time.

However, Harward recently announced on his Instagram that he is stepping away from basketball due to his heart condition.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported:

The BYU men’s basketball team took a blow Tuesday afternoon as one of its key big men announced he won’t play basketball for the foreseeable future.

Senior center Richard Harward announced on Instagram that he is taking “a step back from basketball” this season due to a heart condition that has kept him out of every game so far this season.

“The condition affecting my heart has developed further complications,” Harward wrote. “For my health and safety, it has been determined I will be out the remainder of the season. I have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of kindness and support.”

Harward received words of encouragement from teammates on his Instagram post. Caleb Lohner said, My man! Love forever bro … keep rockin!” Seneca Knight added, “Praying for you bro bro! One Love.”

Harward averaged 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season for the Cougars.

The center had hoped to be an important piece of coach Mark Pope’s puzzle this season. Along with him and other players like Gavin Baxter, the Cougars wanted to be a dominant rebounding team.

Harward posted his message to the BYU community on Instagram.

According to reports, Harward’s collapse in the exhibition game allegedly occurred less than two weeks after receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 jab.

The reports claim Harward didn’t want the COVID-19 injection, but he was pressured into taking it by team management.

The COVID World added:

According to his mother, Alice, Richard originally did not want the vaccine but was “pressured, coerced and shamed” by team management who eventually threatened to stop him from playing for “not going along” and “keeping everyone safe”. However, as is obvious by now, the vaccines are not safe and Richard has paid a very heavy price from which he may never recover.

Richard, who was previously in peak physical condition, became extremely ill within a few days of getting the jab, passing out and suffering from “horrible pressure and pain in his chest”. He developed severe heart inflammation as well as blood clots.

As is usual in these cases, all the doctors that he saw except one denied that it could have anything to do with the jab and said that such injuries “are just inevitable at some point of life for some people.”

Doctors have also apparently recommended that he not take blood thinners such as aspirin to fight the clots.

The rest of his BYU teammates are understandably shocked at his injuries and are currently discussing filing a lawsuit against the team, although if past experience is any guide, the only tactic that will have any effect is a team strike.



 

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