Years after vaccine controversy, Stephen A. Smith apologizes to Kyrie Irving

Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith has publicly apologised to NBA star Kyrie Irving for his criticism of the basketball player’s decision to decline the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic, saying Irving was unfairly vilified and that he was wrong in his assessment.

Smith made the remarks in a nearly 20-minute episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, released on July 30, shortly after watching testimony by Anthony Fauci before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

The veteran analyst, who said he interrupted his vacation to record the video, acknowledged that he had strongly criticised Irving in 2021 when the NBA’s COVID-19 vaccination rules prevented unvaccinated players from participating in certain games. Irving, then with the Brooklyn Nets, missed a significant number of games after refusing to comply with the vaccine mandate.

Opening his remarks, Smith admitted he felt compelled to address the issue publicly.

“I have to do something that I’ve done in the past, but haven’t had to do so much in my career … and that is to issue an apology,” he said.

Smith stressed that his apology extended beyond Irving’s basketball career and focused on his treatment as an individual.

“This is not about him, the basketball player. This is about him, the man,” Smith said, adding that Irving “may have been more right than we have given him credit for, and unquestionably was more vilified than he deserved.”

READ ALSO; Germany ends routine COVID-19 vaccination advice for adults

The ESPN personality accepted responsibility for his previous criticism, stating that he “couldn’t apologise strongly enough.”

Smith also argued that people who expressed reservations about the COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic should not have been automatically condemned.

According to him, Irving simply exercised his constitutional rights and never intended to harm anyone by making a personal medical decision.

“Kyrie Irving did nobody wrong,” Smith said. “We did him wrong. I did him wrong. And for that, I’m sincerely sorry.”

The apology followed Fauci’s appearance before the Senate committee on July 29, where committee chairman Rand Paul criticised U.S. funding of research in China and called on the former top infectious disease expert to apologise over his handling of issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the hearing, Paul said Americans deserved an apology and urged Fauci to acknowledge what he described as mistakes in funding potentially dangerous research and to support stronger safeguards against future pandemics.

According to reports cited by Smith, Fauci did not issue an apology during the hearing.

Smith said the testimony and information that emerged prompted him to reassess his previous position on Irving’s stance during the pandemic, leading him to publicly retract his criticism and apologise to the NBA star.