Stephen A. Smith's Unexpected Apology to Kyrie Irving Shocks Fans

The “A” stands for atonement.

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith issued a shocking on-air apology to Kyrie Irving for blasting the much-maligned NBA superstar’s refusal to comply with mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, which derailed the Brooklyn Nets’ 2021-22 season.

Smith interrupted his scheduled vacation Friday after watching Dr. Anthony Fauci deflect questions from Congress about the origins of the pandemic by pleading the 5th Amendment — saying he “felt compelled” to issue a mea culpa to Irving who was ruthlessly shamed for deciding against getting the COVID shot.

 “I watched Dr. Fauci on Capitol Hill yesterday and the person I thought about most was Kyrie Irving,” said Smith admitted.

“There’s several people that we all owe apologies to, and I’ll put myself at the front of the list, but none more so than the apology that I owe to Kyrie Irving,” the 58-year-old said at the start of his near 20-minute monologue.

“The reality is, is that Kyrie Irving, no matter what we think, may have been more right than we have given him credit for and unquestionably was more vilified than he deserved. And ladies and gentleman, it starts with me,” Smith continued.

“We saw vaccine mandates and booster mandates and you know distancing stipulations and mask mandates and all of this other stuff. And along the way, there were a select few individuals in the world of sports especially that stood up and said, ‘Nah, I’m not down for this,’” Smith recounted.

During the 2021-22 NBA season, Irving sat out 35 games, including all games at Barclays Center, due to New York state’s vaccine mandate.

That rule was later lifted by then-Mayor Eric Adams who created an athlete/performer exemption in March 2022.