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Stephen A. Smith is reflecting on the controversy surrounding Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In hindsight, the sports commentator admitted to now thinking Irving was “right” all along about his decision.
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After Irving turned down getting vaccinated, subsequently failing to comply with the New York City mandate at the time that required athletes to be vaccinated to play in indoor arenas, the shooting guard was sidelined for much of the 2021-22 season during his tenure with the Brooklyn Nets.
In an Instagram Live in October 2021, Irving asserted that his decision was “about being true to what feels good for me,” noting it wasn’t “a political thing” and didn’t have anything to do with the NBA or any other organization.
The seven-time All-Star revealed that he ultimately turned down a four-year, $100-plus million extension from the Nets due to his decision to remain unvaccinated.
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While Irving found support from a minor group of other NBA stars who voiced their reservations about the COVID vaccine, Smith initially slammed Irvin’s decision years ago.
On a September 2022 episode of his EPSN show “First Take,” Smith called out Irving for not being a team player.
“Everybody was in but you,” the TV host said.
On Monday’s episode of the former NBA star Carmelo Anthony’s podcast, “7PM in Brooklyn,” Smith admitted he’s since changed his mind about Irving’s decision to go unvaccinated.
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“Obviously in hindsight, the brother’s right because we see all the conspiracy theories that come out. And props to him for seeing, for having the foresight to see that,” Smith said. He did not expand on what conspiracy theories he was referring to.
“We didn’t see that at the time,” Smith added.
Smith went on to explain why he chose to take the vaccine himself.
“But you also … I have to understand, I’m living in a world where you got cats making 38, 40, 45 million [dollars]. You got [general managers] and owners complaining about it, and you got billionaires looking me in the face and saying, ‘Yo, Stephen A., I took that damn vaccine. Who the hell are they not to take the vaccine?’” he shared.
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Noting that “we’re living in a country where the government was imposing all of that on us,” Smith added, “So I’m sitting there going like this: ‘We’re all taking the risk.’ Kyrie said no. Props to him, but I didn’t view it that way.”
Stephen A. Smith
