Over the past few months, Stephen A. Smith has made his stance on Kyrie Irving clear. In his eyes, not getting the vaccine (and subsequently disqualifying himself from home games) is akin to abandoning his own team in their time of need.
On First Take Thursday morning, Stephen A. laid into Ben Simmons for the same thing.
In a debate with Jay Williams, he went off on the Nets star for continuing to sit despite being healthy and smiling all along the way as the team continues to lose games.
“You’re in Brooklyn, you’re happy! You’re with guys that you want to be with, on a team that you’re happy to be with. And your brothers need you. You’re smiling, high-fiving, dressed in street clothes. What the hell are you doing? Not to mention the fact: what damage are you doing to your contemporaries? Because the owners are gonna remember this. The owners gonna be like ‘this is what we paying for?’ So they have to pay for his travel, they got to pay for his hotel room. You know he ain’t paying for his own meals, they giving him some meals, too. You’re giving him a check to sit on the bench and smile when you’re 100% healthy and ready to go? You got to be kidding me, man.
We have to stop glossing over this. This isn’t Ben Simmons in Philadelphia anymore. He’s in Brooklyn. Smiling more than me and you.”
Originally, the Nets star claimed mental health issues were keeping him from action and it is a claim that has been widely disputed by fans and experts. Nevertheless, Ben has found a way to avoid playing so far.
After the trade to Brooklyn, a path for his return was created and Nets fans were hoping to see him return before March.
Unfortunately, the most recent update says a back injury will keep Simmons out indefinitely, raising some major questions as to when we can expect him to return.
In the meantime, the Nets are in some serious need of reinforcements, and some (like Stephen A. Smith) are getting tired of watching Simmons attend games in street clothes.
