"Call out the utter stupidity of the City of New York" - Stephen A. Smith lashes out at NYC for potentially impacting New York Yankees and New York Mets unvaccinated players

It appears that the New York Yankees and New York Mets will be facing off against a new opponent as the 2022 season approaches: the government of New York City. On his show "First Take," ESPN megapersonality Stephen A. Smith delivered a passionate monologue reacting to the statement New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge made to the media regarding his vaccination status.

Per New York City guidelines, athletes for New York teams who are unvaccinated against the COVID-19 virus are forbidden to play in New York City venues. Smith continued to hold strong on his stance that athletes need to get vaccinated. However, this time he brought a new perspective to this argument as he called out the inconsistent nature of the law that has been vigourously defended by New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "Mayor Eric Adams needs to step up...It needs to make sense," said Smith, pointing out how confusing it is that players from opposing cities who have refused to be vaccinated are permitted to compete for their teams while visitng New York City. Unvaccinated fans are allowed to attend as well. With baseball in particular, Smith was confounded by the law, pointing out with humor that the Mets and Yankees both play in outdoor stadiums, and baseball is a sport that inherently has distance between players, with some even wearing masks while they play.

To illustrate the point, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has demonstrated his outrage with the guidelines by sitting courtside, unmasked at every Nets home game which is perfectly allowed by the city. While making the concession that the rules are inconsistent, Smith did not let any New York Yankees or New York Mets player off the hook.

"Brian Cashman said yesterday that some (unidentified) Yankees who were unvaccinated last year are vaccinated now. Aaron Judge happened to be at podium as today’s news was breaking, and declined to say whether he is vaccinated." - @ Andy Martino

"If I were the New York Yankees, I wouldn't pay [Aaron Judge] until he got the vaccine," Smith stated. This is a pivotal year for the New York Yankees and Judge, as he enters the final year of his contract before testing free agency. Co-host Chris Russo retorted that "Even if he only played 81 games, if he was great, [the New York Yankees] would give him the contract."

"So, as of right now Brandon Nimmo (just naming him as he's on record as not being vaccinated) would only be eligible to play in 78 games this season. JD Davis etc as well. Could be a major, major issue for both NY teams #Mets #Yankees" - @ Daniel Wexler

Both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets face big challenges if unvaccinated players must miss home games

While Judge's avoidance of an answer has had everyone speculating that the New York Yankees star refuses to receive the vaccine, the New York Mets face the same problem as it has been reported that Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Davis are also unvaccinated. It is likely that even more players join them.

The Yankees face higher damage due to these regulations, as their American League East foe, the Toronto Blue Jays, has similar legislation in their city. This would mean the New York Yankees could realistically expect Aaron Judge to miss 100 of the 162 games this season. This is a major obstacle for the Yankees, who have committed many resources to this season's success, acquiring Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa and bringing back Anthony Rizzo after an unsuccessful run at Freddie Freeman.

Rumors are that J.D. Davis and Brandon Nimmo of the New York Mets are also unvaccinated

The New York Mets have arguably invested even more into the 2021-2022 offseason as they signed free agents such as Max Scherzer, Mark Canha and Starling Marte and trading for Chris Bassitt from the Oakland A's. Whether it be Aaron Judge holding back the Yankees or Brandon Nimmo holding back the Mets, there is a lot of risk in terms of the standings and the bank accounts. Who will blink first, the city or the teams?