Free Republic

There's a chance an unvaccinated Kyrie Irving could still play for the Brooklyn Nets this season, but it would require New York to lift its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. If that happens, Nets coach Steve Nash would welcome Irving back to the club. Nash made those comments following Eric Adams being elected as the new mayor of New York. During his campaign, Adams expressed a desire to "revisit" vaccine mandates, according to MSNBC. Adams may have been referring to vaccination policies for police and firefighters, however, and not NBA players. Adams getting elected does open the possibility of the COVID-19 vaccine...

The Kyrie Irving mystery deepened even further on Tuesday, when video seemingly showing the Nets star maskless at a large gathering appeared online overnight. Late Monday, videos showing Irving — who has been on personal leave from the Nets — his older sister and his father at a birthday party emerged on Instagram. Asia turned 30 on Tuesday, while Drederick turned 55 on Monday. It is not clear if the video is current. The NBA is reviewing the video. Irving has sat out the past three Nets games for what the team has called personal reasons and had already been...

Must everything be about race? Can nothing be about merit? Can owners of a sports franchise no longer hire the person they believe is best qualified without making it into an issue of race? I’m talking here about the claim of the popular (and controversial) sports commentator Stephen A. Smith that the hiring of NBA great Steve Nash to coach the Brooklyn Nets can only be explained on the basis of “White privilege.” To be sure, Smith loves Nash as a person and has the highest respect for him as a basketball player. In no way is he criticizing Nash,...

Steve Nash was named the new head coach of the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday morning. The announcement was unexpected, to say the least. Nash, 46, has no head coaching experience. This prompted many to wonder if Brooklyn’s decision to immediately put him at the helm of a championship contender featuring Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was race-related. ESPN NBA insider Stephen A. Smith literally made that case during Thursday’s episode of First Take. “This is one of the toughest positions I’ve ever had to take,” Smith said on the air. “Ladies and gentlemen, there’s no way around this. This is...

Stephen A. Smith, ESPN’s controversial talking head and hot take artist, of course had an opinion on the Nets’ hiring of Steve Nash, the Hall of Fame point guard. Smith didn’t like it, not because of Nash’s lack of experience, but because he felt it was an instance of “white privilege” since more experienced black coaches such as Tyronn Lue and Mark Jackson were available. “This is one of the toughest positions I’ve ever had to take,” Smith said on the air. “Ladies and gentlemen, there’s no way around this. This is white privilege. This does not happen for a...

LeBron James may have canceled his NBA world tour plans to spend more time with his family. But he’s found plenty of time to recruit more stars to Miami. LeBron tweeted this Thursday: "Maybe @SteveNash in a Heat uni! So we can help each other get our 1st ring" Nevermind the fact that Nash is still under contract with the Phoenix Suns for one more season. Or that there’s no way this could work financially whenever the league resumes. If LeBron doesn’t think three all-star players are enough to win his first championship, he’s got bigger issues. This can’t make...

A certain sector of the male populace fantasizes about women like me. You see I'm a certifiable sports fanatic. I'm a card-carrying member of the Where Were You When the Americans Beat the Russians Club. I know the answer to the Trivial Pursuit question, "Who was the 1973 Triple Crown Winner?" Duh. I only needed a few weeks of therapy to get over Romo's botched field goal snap. When play-offs in any sport start, I get that Chris Matthew's thrill up my leg sensation. In other words, I L-O-V-E sports. And the crème de la crème for me is basketball....