Radio host Howard Stern tore into NBA superstar Kyrie Irving over the guard’s refusal to receive a coronavirus vaccination, calling him “the biggest idiot in the country right now.”
“Talk about stupid, there’s some people who are willing to walk away from millions of dollars and not get vaccinated,” Stern said on his nationally syndicated radio program on Tuesday. “They’re so stupid they’re putting their mouth where their money is.”
“In terms of idiots, he’s got to be the top idiot in the country right now,” Stern said of Irving. “Guy’s got a chance as a young man to make millions of dollars, all he’s got to do is get vaccinated, but he doesn’t want to get vaccinated.”
Stern also noted previous comments Irving has made about conspiracy theories.
“He’s got a history of being stupid,” Stern said. “He’s one of these guys, he’s a flat earther too … his mind works in very strange ways.”
Irving, an NBA champion and seven-time All-Star, was suspended by the Brooklyn Nets over his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The decision has rendered him ineligible to play or practice in the team’s arena due to New York City’s requirement for proof of vaccination to attend large indoor events.
“I’m standing with all those that believe what is right,” Irving said while speaking on Instagram Live earlier this month. “Everybody is entitled to do what they feel is what’s best for themselves. Seeing the way this is dividing our world up, it’s sad to see. People are losing jobs to mandates.”
Irving added that he didn’t foresee vaccines being an issue ahead of this NBA season, which begins on Tuesday.
Stern has been sharply critical of Americans who refuse to take a coronavirus vaccine, at one point calling them “nut jobs” who are putting others in danger. The SiriusXM host ripped Joe Rogan for pushing ivermectin as a cure for COVID-19.
“When are we going to stop putting up with the idiots in this country and just say it’s mandatory to get vaccinated?” Stern said during a fiery segment on his show last month. “F— them. F— their freedom. I want my freedom to live … I want to get out of the house. I want to go next door and play chess. I want to go take some pictures. This is bullshit.”
