“Kyrie Irving, what about all the people that lost their lives during this pandemic?”: ESPN First Take host questions Nets star’s vaccination stance then destroys Jay Williams for supporting him

When more than 90 percent of the NBA players are vaccinated before the start to the season, Kyrie Irving’s firm stance on not getting jabbed is still the talk of the town.

Kyrie Irving’s vaccination situation has been more of a headache to the whole Brooklyn Nets camp and media houses than Irving himself.

His own home NYC wouldn’t allow unvaccinated players in their arena. He is still strong on his decision to not get the jab even when his franchise has forbidden him from participating in any team-related activity until he changes his decision.

Also read: “Brooklyn Nets do NOT need Kyrie Irving to make the NBA Finals”: Jim Jackson and Gilbert Arenas passionately argue Kyrie’s possible role in 2021-22 NBA season

Molly Qerim Rose blasted Jay Williams for defending Kyrie

On this matter, the ESPN’s First take crew members were having a debate, when the show’s host, Molly Qerim Rose gave her perspective,

Molly Qerim Rose stole the show on “First Take” this morning 👀 pic.twitter.com/l6ruZFdCBX

— Fadeaway World (@FadeawayWorld) October 14, 2021

“I think there’s two issues that stand out to me. One, he wants to be a voice for the voiceless, but we haven’t heard from him. So if you want to stand up, you have to speak out on these issues so we understand. We can’t just hear a story and we’re not even sure whether it’s true or not. And the other piece is that he’s upset about people losing their jobs but what about all the people that lost their lives during this pandemic?” Molly said.

To which the former Chicago Bull point guard, Jay Williams argued, and supported Kyrie on the matter,

“I think one of the things that elevated the conversation yesterday was that everybody wants Kyrie Irving to be on their timeline.” Jay Said.

This set off Molly completely and she went full ‘Stephen A Smith’ on her fellow panelist for not backing up his argument with anything solid.

“Jay, when you referred to the timeline, the NBA season tips off in five days. We’re not making up some timeline, the NBA season starts. They’re the favorites to win the Chip. And he’s saying ‘I’m not retiring and I’m not giving this game up for the vaccine.’” The First Take host said.

She continued “Okay then what are you doing? Are you playing or not, that’s what we want to know. So it’s not that the media is creating this timeline, we’re talking about him for no reason. We wanna know if he’s gonna be out there on the court.”

Also read:“Brooklyn Nets would give Kyrie Irving away for a box of cookies if they could”: Stephen A Smith looks at Kyrie’s situation at Brooklyn after GM said they do not allow unvaccinated players

When Kyrie has to be paid $35 million a year, in a team that already has Kevin Durant and James Harden, he should be a little more excited to play basketball and winning a ring rather than always finding ways to avoid it.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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