Kyrie Irving has gone from declaring that the earth is flat to now perpetuating a much more dangerous sentiment.
Rolling Stone’s Matt Sullivan reported in a feature article this week that the Brooklyn Nets guard recently started following and “liking” posts from an account on Instagram that is pushing an anti-vaccine stance. The account has claimed that “secret societies” are behind the COVID-19 vaccine and are trying to use them as part of a “plan for Satan” to connect black people to a master computer. Sullivan further adds that this microchip misinformation campaign has spread across numerous NBA locker rooms and group chats.
Irving, who is the vice president of the NBA Players’ Association, already drew criticism recently for a mask-related tweet. He later clarified though that his tweet was just a metaphor and was not meant to be taken literally.
The All-Star guard will have a much harder time defending himself against this latest controversy however. Beyond the recklessness of casting doubt on the legitimacy of the vaccine, Irving plays in Brooklyn, a city that will be governed by New York’s rules requiring proof of vaccination to play indoors.
While the NBA has said that 90 percent of players have received at least one dose of the vaccine, we have seen some players’ anti-vaccine beliefs come to light in recent days. Now Irving appears to fall into that category as well.
