Sudbury, Massachusetts - Basketball and pop culture icon Shaquille O'Neal, has always been one to speak his mind, and he definitely minced no words on the subject of NBA players and their hesitancy to take the Covid-19 vaccine.

This past Monday, Brooklyn Nets superstar guard Kyrie Irving (29) made headlines when he was absent from his team’s media day event.

Irving’s no-show resulted from New York City’s recently-enacted vaccination mandate that requires proof of at least one shot for indoor activities involving the city’s professional athletes.

Since he’s not currently vaccinated, Irving is barred from any indoor activities in New York City, from simple practice sessions up to regular-season home games – at least 41 games.

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Even though Shaq last played professional basketball in 2011, almost a decade before anything like the coronavirus had hit the NBA, he still has a pulse on the league thanks to spending much of his time as a studio analyst for Turner Sports.

On his own podcast, The Big Podcast with Shaq, O’Neal took the opportunity on Wednesday to respond to Irving’s controversial anti-vax stance with some blunt truths.

"If you’re on my team and you can’t play home games, I don’t want you around."

His comments refer to the large number of games Irving could miss this upcoming season.

"We ain’t gonna be going back and forth for 41 games whether you gonna play or not," he added.

Irving's contract with the Nets pays him approximately $30 million per year, but according to NBA spokesperson Mike Bass, who confirmed on Wednesday that any player who misses a game due to their unvaccinated status won’t be paid.

Irving has been part of his team’s training camp in San Diego, a city that doesn’t have strict indoor requirements like NYC, while the Nets gear up for their season opener on October 3.