Emily needs to go back to school to learn the definition of irony.  It's embarrassingly daft of this writer to think it's only "truly ironic" if Scalise thought Griner was incompetent at her job, or just a bad person.  
It's this simple:  Person A has sought to marginalize Person B; yet in time of need Person B helps Person A.  While some may not find the "delicious" flavour tasteful, how can you not see "true irony" in that?  
BTW, Scalise IS a bigot and a homophobe.  These are not smears, they are facts.  Also being a bigoted homophobe and being in critical condition are not mutually exclusive.  A bigot is still a bigot in both sickness and health.