Jay Williams fights Stephen A. Smith on Aaron Rodgers and Kyrie Irving

Jay Williams brought receipts to Stephen A. Smith connected “First Take” connected Thursday.

Aaron Rodgers is missing astatine slightest Sunday’s Packers crippled against the Chiefs due to the fact that helium tested affirmative for COVID-19. He reportedly received homeopathic antibody treatments and petitioned the NFL to categorize him arsenic vaccinated, but the league declined. When asked straight by reporters successful August if helium was vaccinated, Rodgers answered that helium was “immunized.”

For this bid of events, Stephen A. Smith said that Rodgers is simply a “liar” and a “coward”:

Smith did not instrumentality a stance connected whether it matters present if Rodgers is vaccinated oregon not, but focused connected the misdirection and the information that Rodgers was not pursuing the league’s protocols by speaking to the media without wearing a disguise this season.

Having watched that conception backstage, Jay Williams entered the amusement and called Smith retired for going easier connected Rodgers’ determination not to beryllium vaccinated than helium did with Kyrie Irving, who has sat retired the Nets play truthful acold portion refusing to get the jab:

“I person this gripe with you, and I wrote down immoderate things that you said here,” Williams said to Smith. “Three-and-a-half weeks agone you said ‘It amounts to betrayal’ for Kyrie, ‘flat retired stupid,’ ‘bad teammate,’ ‘selfish’ … Oct. 16 connected CNN, ‘to hellhole with you’ — you accidental each these things astir Kyrie Irving, and helium was precise upfront and honorable astir his situation. He wasn’t jeopardizing anyone else. He didn’t enactment anybody other connected the Brooklyn Nets astatine risk.

“I conscionable didn’t consciousness the aforesaid venom — I didn’t consciousness the aforesaid vigor that was associated with Kyrie Irving, and a portion of maine wonders why. How travel you don’t clasp Aaron Rodgers — who lied — to the aforesaid standard?”

Aaron Rodgers, who is not vaccinated, tested affirmative for COVID and volition miss the Packers’ Sunday crippled against the Chiefs.Getty Images

What followed was immoderate fascinating logic. Smith said that his favoritism was not that Irving should get the vaccine due to the fact that of its efficacy, but that helium owed it to Kevin Durant and James Harden to travel New York City’s mandate and beryllium disposable arsenic a teammate, aft steering Durant to the Nets alternatively of the Knicks. He added that galore of Irving’s teammates did not privation to get vaccinated, but did truthful retired of a consciousness of work to the team.

Kyrie Irving, who is not vaccinated, won’t play for the Nets this play until helium is compliant with New York City’s mandate.Corey Sipkin

It would beryllium fantastic if we tin get to a constituent successful the adjacent twelvemonth oregon 2 wherever conversations similar these are successful the rear-view.