ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith nearly lost his life in 2022 to COVID-19, but that isn’t stopping him from asserting that Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving was right about the virus all along.
Irving, then a member of the Brooklyn Nets, infamously refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine, and Smith was one of the most critical public-facing voices on Irving’s stance, calling it “flat-out stupid” and ripping him for electing to miss out on Nets home games rather than take the vaccine.
However, former NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right over one hundred times before the Senate Homeland Security Committee to avoid answering questions about the origins of COVID-19; Smith is issuing a full apology.
“There were many people encouraging folks to do it anyway (get vaccinated). Kyrie Irving wasn’t one of them,” Smith said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “In my opinion, particularly hindsight-wise, it didn’t make him stubborn or selfish; it made him brave.”
Smith took “accountability” for doing Irving “wrong.”
“Kyrie Irving did nobody wrong. We did him wrong. I did him wrong. And for that, I’m sincerely sorry,” Smith now says. “I just thought it was important to say that… I need to do better. I’m not alone, but I’m responsible for me. I need to do better. And I will.”
Now, U.S. representative Anna Paulina Luna is commending Irving’s bravery as well, and calling for the President to award him.
“I am calling on President Trump to give Kyrie Irving the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his immense act of bravery during one of the darkest times in modern history,” Luna posted on X on Friday.
I am calling on President Trump to give Kyrie Irving the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his immense act of bravery during one of the darkest times in modern history. https://t.co/aGIs0oB6sp
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) July 31, 2026
At this point, Irving is almost certainly focused on getting the Mavs back to the playoffs, and Luna may want to focus on helping Floridians.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.