On Tuesday, ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith announced he had contracted the coronavirus and proceeded to blast the Brooklyn Nets for allowing unvaccinated Kyrie Irving to come back to the court.

After missing Monday’s show, Smith opened the Tuesday edition of First Take by telling viewers that he had tested positive for the virus over the weekend.

“I’ve tested positive for COVID-19,” Smith exclaimed. “I have the coronavirus. I learned this over the weekend. I got tested three times last week prior to the weekend. I had tested negative before I had departed for LA, I tested negative when I arrived in LA, I tested negative when I got back from LA.”

The talker added that he will take the rest of the week off, and then delivered the claim many who are vaccinated promulgate, saying that his previous vaccination is making his current bout less severe.

“Thank God I was vaccinated,” Smith insisted. “Thank God I got the Pfizer vaccine, two shots a few months ago … thank God I got the vaccine because had it not been for that, I’d probably be much worse than I am right now.”

Smith continued saying that he had a fever for about twelve hours and still did not feel 100 percent. He also assured viewers that once he was done with the virus, he would get the booster shot.

Later in the show, Smith criticized the Nets for letting the unvaccinated Irving to play again.

“I think it’s a horrible move. I think it’s a disgraceful move,” Smith groused about the Nets’ decision. “I think that Nets ownership is incredibly disappointing, and I think that the league should intervene.

“I’m open to the league invoking its ‘best interest of the game’ clause and mandating that everybody be vaccinated in some capacity,” he added.

Smith was not the only commentator to slam the Nets for bringing Irving back. FS1’s Skip Bayless also ripped the Brooklyn Nets over Irving’s return, saying that Irving is “an enormous threat to their team.”

Irving, of course, has become infamous among vax pushers for refusing to take the vaccine, even if it cost him money from being denied playing time. But only 24 hours after coming back, Irving was already back on the coronavirus protocol.

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