As NBA star Kyrie Irving continues to stir up controversy by refusing to get the COVID vaccine, essentially preventing him from playing home games for the Brooklyn Nets, he’s had no shortage of right-wing voices rushing to his defense. This time around, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who rode into office as the “QAnon congresswoman,” fired off a wildly offensive and scientifically illiterate attack on the NBA.
“The fascist NBA won’t let Kyrie Irving play for refusing a vaccine,” Greene tweeted. “But yet they still let Magic Johnson play with HIV.”
Naturally, as with all things related to MTG, there’s a lot wrong here. Right off the bat, the NBA has not banned Irving from playing — the team he plays for (the Brooklyn Nets) made the decision to force him to sit out until he is either vaccinated or New York City drops its vaccine mandate for indoor events. Secondly, HIV and COVID-19 are two extremely different diseases, particularly when it comes to how they’re transmitted. While COVID-19 is so contagious that you simply have to be in the room as an infected person, HIV can only be transmitted via sexual intercourse, sharing intravenous needles, or a contaminated blood transfusion. Last time we checked, absolutely none of those are happening on the court during an NBA game, and social media lit Greene up for her asinine tweet.
Most NBA games don’t include unprotected sex or other exchanges of bodily fluids. Covid transmission, however, can happen during a normal NBA game. https://t.co/aGaZn0CGjs
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) October 14, 2021
HIV is not spread by respiratory droplets.
Have a blessed day, superstar.
— Jean L.P. Jaurès
(@pitgpitw1) October 14, 2021
It’s 2021 and a sitting Congresswoman who believes in Jewish Space lasers doesn’t understand how people get HIV. This is why sex education and not being a bigot matters. https://t.co/SXzjy8nYrD
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) October 14, 2021
You are allowed to research things before tweeting them…
— Noble Prize in Sarcasm (@rewegreatyet) October 14, 2021
I told y’all this is the Right Wing talking point of the week.
These folks don’t give a sh-t about Kyrie, Magic Johnson, or the NBA. They just want to own the libs, and they don’t care how dumb they look in the process. https://t.co/GCgH3OoADv
— Britni Danielle (@BritniDWrites) October 14, 2021
— Lp (@condo2009) October 14, 2021
Greene joins fellow right-wing figures like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Jr. who have voiced support for Irving’s decision to continue to buck New York’s vaccine mandate. Cruz suggested that Irving should be traded to Houston where fans would be happy to see him play.
Show me one real @HoustonRockets fan who wouldn’t be psyched to have @KyrieIrving on the team. We have a great young core, but are very much rebuilding. Kyrie can play point or shooting guard.
If Brooklyn won’t let him play, it’s a great chance for him to come to Houston! https://t.co/qEOgT5JJG3
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 13, 2021
Trump Jr. skewed a little bit more towards MTG-level of hyperbole by suggesting that Irving sacrificed more than Colin Kaepernick.
Kyrie just sacrificed more than Kaepernick ever did! https://t.co/bMNryRnIlI
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 12, 2021
And the world spins madly on.
Kyrie look at your tribe https://t.co/YfxowunI6W
— Van Lathan Jr (@VanLathan) October 12, 2021