Metta Sandiford-Artest Calls Out Fans For Criticizing Kyrie Irving: "He Lost $17 Million, It Has Nothing To Do With You."

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Kyrie Irving remains one of the biggest stories in the NBA this season, although he's not getting the same attention as before. The Brooklyn Nets star is currently inactive due to his refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine. 

This decision has earned him a lot of criticism, but he's found support within the league and out of it. More recently, a former NBA champion came in Irving's defense, calling out the haters and asking them to stay in their line. 

During a recent appearance on The Adam Carolla show, the controversial player reflected on the Kyrie saga, saying his decision affected him and only him. More specifically, Metta talked about Kyrie's financial losses and what they meant for the point guard. 

"I feel like if [Kyrie] didn't want to get the vaccine and he can't play, everything's done, you can't play, there's nothing else to talk about. I see a lot of people bashing him, like, 'get him out of here' and I'm like, why so mad? All he did was not get the vaccine and lose $17 million. He lost $17 million, it has nothing to do with you. And he can't go inside the arena, so he's not putting no one at risk inside the arena. I don't know what the big issue is."

If you think about it, Metta might have a solid point, but this is something bigger than Kyrie. He has a contract to honor, as the Nets paid him a lot of money to be one of their stars. Fans pay to see him play and it's understandable if they don't think what Kyrie is doing is unfair. 

Still, the player has his reasons to not take the vaccine and people should respect that. However, not everybody believes the same, and the 2016 NBA champion is constantly under fire because of that. 

The last thing we heard about him was that he's not likely to play again with the Nets and will return to the court after he gets traded.