The NBA legend rips the active professional basketball player for reportedly refusing to get vaccinated which makes him unable to play home games due to NYC's COVID-19 mandate.
- October 1, 2021
AceShowbiz - Shaquille O'Neal doesn't mince his words when it comes to anti-vaxxer. The three-time NBA Finals MVP has blasted Kyrie Irving when weighing in on the latter's alleged COVID-19 vaccination status.
The retired professional basketball player was asked how he feels about Kyrie's alleged vaccine stance when appearing on CBS Sports Radio's "Tiki and Tierney". Clearly disagreeing with the Brooklyn Nets player who reportedly has not got vaccinated yet, the former athlete said, "I would go upstairs and say, 'Get him up out of here.' "
Suggesting the Brooklyn Nets to cut ties with the 29-year-old star, he continued, "We can win with a two-punch and a great shooter and some rebounders like we got. Get his a** up out of here. Whoever owns the Nets, get his a** up out of here."
"Of course, if I played with him, I'd be in charge all the way, all day," so the 49-year-old added. "Now every day I'm gonna have to answer questions about him and what he's doing … get his a** up outta here."
Shaquille further shared his thought on the matter on "The Big Podcast" on Thursday, September 30. While he said that he is not going to "knock" Kyrie's right to have an opinion, he insisted that the Australian native has to think about the bigger picture.
"In this game of ours, sometimes you have to think about others instead of yourself. Now, Kyrie has his own views and his opinions. I'm not going to knock that," he argued. "He does have an obligation because he took that $200 million. Once you sign up for this life there is no privacy. And you have to accept it."
Kyrie is among a few NBA stars who have come out against the vaccine. Other players who haven't got vaccinated include Andrew Wiggins, Bradley Beal and Jonathan Isaac. NBA recently announced that unvaccinated players won't be paid if they miss games as several cities issued a mandate that requires eligible people to be vaccinated for entry to public places. Due to this regulation, Kyrie is in danger of having to miss every home game this season.
Meanwhile, LeBron James said he has got his jabs, though he won't convince anyone to do the same.
