Stephen A. Smith Not Satisfied With WR’s Fake ID Penalty

Covidian hysteria is often accompanied by stupidity, as Stephen A. Smith (sports talk host) reminded us on Friday.

Smith went beserk on his show “First Take” in a segment that discussed the punishment Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown received for using a fake vaccine ID card as proof of his vaccination status. Smith didn’t like this severe punishment.

Smith described Brown’s inability to get the vaccine as selfish and suggested that Brown ought to have been punished more harshly. It’s just part of Smith’s lengthy and tedious rant.

“These brothers vouched for you man,” Smith said of Brown’s teammates. “And all it would have been was an inconvenience for you. You chose this path instead of being truthful to make sure you are available. It’s a good thing you were able to get three games. It should’ve been more.

“There’s not even a rule in the NFL prohibiting you as a player from playing if you’re not vaccinated,” Smith added. “What it says is that you have to go through additional safety protocols that could be a bit more arduous … but you don’t HAVE to get vaccinated in order to play. And still, STILL you lied.”

Smith is correct about one thing, and Brown shouldn’t have lied about that. Brown doesn’t need to stop playing. He would simply have to be subject to more testing. Brown’s actions in that way did not benefit his cause.

But he still needs to see that there is an element of overreach on the NFL’s part. Multiple times this year, the NFL crossed over into medical privacy and freedom of choice. They also doubled down on stupidity and made everyone who didn’t comply with COVID guidelines a scapegoat. Brown is now the latest member of the group.

Also, three games is definitely a sufficient punishment for this wrong. It also raises questions about the NFL’s consistency in handling player discipline cases.

Brown’s teammate Richard Sherman is playing every week, but earlier this summer, he was arrested on the charge of burglary domestic violence after trying to forcibly gain entrance into his girlfriend’s parents’ house in Washington state.

Josh Gordon is a Kansas City Chiefs wide-receiver who has been accused of being one of most egregious drug policy violators in recent times. He had been banned five times by NFL due to possession of illegal substances. However, he was still allowed to play football.

But three games for a guy who faked his vaccination status and “endangered” everyone in his locker room? That’s a little absurd.

People might start to think rationally if the COVID panic ever ends. Until then, we’ll have to learn to ignore the idiots in our society that have unfortunately been given microphones.