Aaron Rodgers didn’t hold back when he appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show,” as he used the open platform to fire shots at several figures.
But in the middle of his tirade, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback also took time to praise ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith for apologizing to Kyrie Irving after being one of the NBA star’s strongest critics over his decision against getting vaccinated.
Aaron Rodgers Praises Stephen A. Smith’s Admission over Kyrie Irving Controversy
During Irving’s time with the Brooklyn Nets, his refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine made him one of the NBA’s most headline-grabbing figures. The decision forced him to miss games and cost him millions in salary, all while Smith became one of his most vocal critics.
Five years after the jab, Smith publicly admitted he was wrong in how he handled the situation.
“There’s several people that we all owe apologies to… but none more so than the apology that I owe to Kyrie Irving,” Smith said on his show. “It turns out that no matter what the truth is behind all of this, Kyrie Irving did nobody wrong. We did him wrong. I did him wrong. And for that, I’m sincerely sorry.”
Speculation continues about Smith’s potential political ambitions, which is why some questioned whether the apology was genuine or intended to appeal to voters. Regardless of the motive, Rodgers praised Smith for publicly owning up to his mistake.
“I gotta give flowers to Stephen A. Smith, my old friend Stephen A,” Rodgers said.
“Because he was man enough to actually admit and apologize to Kyrie Irving. So I got to give a shout out to my guy Stephen A. You are not a coward.”
Aaron Rodgers Shouts Out Stephen A Smith For Apologizing To Kyrie Irving:
“I gotta give flowers to Stephen A Smith, because he was man enough to admit and actually apologize to Kyrie Irving.” https://t.co/XAP0F5yPVm pic.twitter.com/8bE1LByQUU
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) August 3, 2026
Smith also called out Dr. Anthony Fauci after the former White House chief medical adviser invoked the Fifth Amendment several times before Congress. Fauci was questioned about the government’s COVID-19 response and allegations surrounding gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China.
However, Fauci maintained that the hearing was politically motivated and that lawmakers were attempting to use his testimony against him, which didn’t bode well with Smith.
Rodgers is in the same boat as Smith here and unleashed jabs at Fauci.
“Absolute coward,” Rodgers said. “Are you kidding me? You got a pardon, and you pleaded over 100 times at the White House. What are you scared of, Tony? I thought you were the science.”
McAfee, as it turns out, had actually asked Rodgers about his mindset entering his final NFL season, but the conversation quickly shifted to Fauci and ESPN.
Rodgers argued that Fauci’s congressional testimony received far less media attention than the extensive coverage he himself received in 2022 after he acknowledged that he had misled the public about his COVID-19 vaccination status.
