Kyrie Irving has received a lot of slander for not getting vaccinated. The Brooklyn Nets superstar has simply denied doing it because he doesn’t trust the vaccine. Kyrie also explained his point of view in an Instagram live video.
In the video, he mentioned he talked about his actual feelings about the vaccine. He further mentioned that he has no plans to retire right now, contrary to what many reports had suggested. But he won’t be allowed to become a part-time player either by the Nets.
But saying that he’s like the legendary Muhammad Ali? That is exaggerating things a bit too much. NBA Hall of Famer and now-analyst Charles Barkley was surprised at this comparison and expressed his feelings about the same.
“First of all you don’t get the vaccine for yourself, you get it for other people,” Barkley said. “I got vaccinated, I can’t wait to get the booster. You don’t get vaccinated just for yourself. You get vaccinated for your family first, you get vaccinated for your teammates second. That’s what bothers me about this whole thing. I think everybody should get vaccinated.”
“I really am proud of the Nets for putting their foot down. For saying no, we’re not going to deal with this half on, half off (situation). The only thing that bugs me is he’s still going to make $17 million sitting at home.”
After bashing Kyrie and praising the Nets, Chuck talked about the people comparing him to Ali.
“People are saying he’s like Ali. First of all, don’t ever compare anyone to Ali. Ali went three years without boxing when he was the highest-paid athlete in the world. This guy is going to make $17 million sitting at home,” he concluded.
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1450626417071308800
The time that Chuck mentioned was when Ali’s license was stripped due to his refusal to be drafted into the army. He didn’t want to be a part of the war against Vietnam which led to his absence from boxing.
Additionally, he was also sentenced to five years of prison and a $10,000 fine. But with time, Ali began to gain sympathy from everyone and he got his boxing license back in 1970.
Comparing that situation to Irving’s makes no sense. Irving is adamant about not getting a vaccine that has been created by some of the brightest minds in the world. On top of that, he is still making a huge sum of money while sitting at home. Maybe in a few months he will change his mind, but it is a very slim chance.
