| Kyrie Irving is a seven-time NBA All-Star whose uncanny skills can leave you wondering, how did he do that? Off the court, he's more of a why-did-he-do-that kind of guy. As Eugene Robinson notes, a few years ago, Irving "drew worldwide attention by claiming, with a straight face, that he believed the world is flat." Later, Irving apologized, saying, "At the time, I was, like, huge into conspiracies. And everybody's been there." "That's precisely the problem," Robinson writes. "Far too many Americans are 'huge into conspiracies,'" — and it appears that now Irving is riding one of the biggest of all. The Brooklyn Nets star refuses to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, which puts him crosswise not only with common sense but also with a New York City vaccine mandate. Irving apparently was planning on just sitting out all of his team's home games, Robinson says, but "Nets management has wisely decided it's best he not play at all." The "performative iconoclast" went on Instagram with a self-pitying defense, saying the vaccine matter "is bigger than the game" and asking, "Why are you putting it on me?" Well, for one reason, Robinson says, "The vaccination rate among young adults and teenagers" is "much lower than it should be," and "they're hearing a catastrophically mistaken, perhaps deadly message." But Irving is right about one thing: "This is, indeed, 'bigger than the game.'"  (Elise Amendola/AP) Taking athletes seriously as political actors means pointing out when they're dead wrong. By Eugene Robinson ● Read more » | | | | Political flaps keep interrupting good policy when it comes to technology alliances. By David Ignatius ● Read more » | | | | If you think opposition to "big government" is high now, imagine the blowback after months of coverage about expensive, incompetently executed safety-net expansions. By Catherine Rampell ● Read more » | | | | It doesn't save much money, and it hurts the neediest instead of weeding out the affluent. By Mondaire Jones and Katie Porter ● Read more » | | | Runaway inflation, Americans trapped overseas, a president begging OPEC — it's like the 1970s all over again. By Marc A. Thiessen ● Read more » | | | | Which needs go unmet? Which millions of Americans don't get served? By Paul Waldman and Greg Sargent ● Read more » | | | | McConnell cannot risk the possibility of Trump's lies depressing Republican turnout. By Henry Olsen ● Read more » | | | Finally, legal recognition that the nonconsensual removal of a condom during sex is wrong. By Christine Emba ● Read more » | | | | It's abhorrent that people continue to demand autonomy even if it kills their neighbor. By Michael Gerson ● Read more » | | | | Moviemakers and studios assume the experience of having a child will translate across borders. But with childlessness on the rise, that might no longer be the case. By Sonny Bunch ● Read more » | | | | Republicans are desperate to keep gerrymandering to avoid the will of the people. If only Democrats would stop them. By Paul Waldman ● Read more » | | | |
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