Stephen A. Smith apologizes to Kyrie Irving over COVID-19: ‘It made him brave’

Stephen A. Smith nearly died from COVID-19 in early 2022, but four years later, he’s ready to declare Kyrie Irving was right about the pandemic.

Irving was one of the most prominent sports figures who led the charge against the COVID-19 vaccine years ago. In response, Smith was often one of his loudest critics, calling Irving “flat-out stupid” and putting him on blast for choosing to miss Brooklyn Nets home games instead of getting the vaccine.

More recently, Smith has begun to waver on his past criticisms of Irving. And after watching former NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci invoke his Fifth Amendment right more than one hundred times while sitting before the Senate Homeland Security Committee to answer questions about the origins of COVID-19, Smith sought to issue a full apology.

“There were many people encouraging folks to do it anyway (get vaccinated). Kyrie Irving wasn’t one of them,” Smith said. “In my opinion, particularly hindsight-wise, it didn’t make him stubborn or selfish; it made him brave.”

This is a complete flip from when Smith previously implied Irving was being stubborn and selfish for missing NBA games over the vaccine, accusing the All-Star guard of attempting to paint himself as a victim.

“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.”

The full apology from Smith to Irving was in the works for a while. Last year, Smith suggested Irving was “right” about the COVID-19 vaccine “because we see all the conspiracy theories that came out.” Suggesting someone was right about a conspiracy because other conspiracies emanated from the initial conspiracy was a curious line of defense. But Smith has only furthered his own suspicion about the pandemic after watching Fauci this week.

Fauci worked alongside President Donald Trump in handling the immediate response to the pandemic six years ago, but Republicans have since attacked the person who was once the country’s leading infectious disease expert, accusing him of unproven claims that he covered up the origins of the virus. Those attacks have continued after Joe Biden gave Fauci a blanket pardon before leaving office in an attempt to protect him from the incoming Trump administration. And the 85-year-old doctor invoking his Fifth Amendment rights has only fueled his critics and skeptics.

Smith knows about the dangers of COVID-19 as well as anyone. He’s been very open about the fact that he nearly died from a bout with the virus around the holidays in 2021 that left him hospitalized over New Year’s with pneumonia in both lungs and a bad liver. Despite his own battle with the virus, Smith’s suspicions around the pandemic have grown in recent years.