Kyrie Irving caused an uproar when he refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine back in 2021 during his tenure with the Brooklyn Nets. Irving received a fair bit of backlash for his decision, which also prevented him from playing home games for a while, and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was one of his most vocal critics.
Smith now thinks he made a mistake, though, as he stated on the 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony podcast that Irving was right not to take the vaccine.
“Kyrie’s a good brother,” Smith said. “We used to butt heads because he miss work too damn much. And I’m like, ‘Yo, man, this brother’s electrifying. I want to see this brother dancing on the basketball court. I don’t want to hear no s*** about no COVID vaccine. Get your a** on the court. I need to see you.’
“Now, obviously, in hindsight, the brother right, because we see all the conspiracy theories that come out,” Smith stated. “And props to him for having the foresight to see that. We didn’t see that at the time.”
Smith claimed that owners and GMs had complained to him about Irving not getting vaccinated when they all had gotten the shot. They wanted him to get in line with everyone else.
“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 all taking the risk.’ Kyrie said no. Props to him, but I didn’t view it that way.”
Smith didn’t elaborate on what conspiracy theories he was referring to. A lot of them have floated around over the years, and it appears he might be regretting his decision to get vaccinated.
When Irving made his decision in 2021, there was a vaccine mandate in New York City. The Nets announced before the season that he wouldn’t be allowed to play or practice with the team, but an injury crisis meant they had to change their stance.
Irving would make his season debut on Jan. 5, 2022, against the Indiana Pacers on the road. The mandate was still in place, which meant he could only play away from home. It was only in March that the mandate was relaxed. So, Irving finally made his home debut for the 2021-22 season on March 27 against the Charlotte Hornets. He ended up playing just 29 games in 2021-22, and Smith ripped him for it over the course of the campaign.
Smith blasted Irving for betraying the fans by not taking the vaccine and missing games. The nine-time All-Star didn’t say much during the season, but he would respond after it. Irving called out Smith for criticizing him, stating he would have to explain himself to people of his generation. Smith stated he didn’t have to explain anything to anybody and told the guard to stop hiding behind public support and fess up to the shenanigans he engages in.
Smith would admit later to having personal issues with Irving. You’d have imagined back then that this relationship was beyond repair, but that wouldn’t prove to be the case. Smith ended up mending fences with Irving and his father, Drederick.
This whole vaccine mess, though, was followed by Irving being embroiled in an anti-Semitism controversy. His stock dropped significantly as a result of all of these actions, and the Nets would eventually ship him off to the Dallas Mavericks after he requested a trade in February 2023.
This trade was seen as a big risk on the Mavericks’ part, but it has paid off. Irving hasn’t been involved in any major controversies since arriving in Dallas and even helped the team reach the NBA Finals in 2024.
