Kyrie Irving at the moment cannot participate in any home games for his team the Brooklyn Nets. The 29-year-old NBA point guard cannot play in any games at the Barclays Center or Madison Square Garden because of a New York mandate that requires players to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or have approved medical approval or religious considerations for not taking a vaccine.
The Nets have not allowed Kyrie Irving to participate in any team activities until he can return to the team as a full-time player, meaning that he gets vaccinated. As of Monday, Irving has not changed his stance on taking a vaccine.
Kyrie Irving has stated that he is doing “what’s best” for him in a stance for not taking a coronavirus vaccine. Irving later took to social media stating that he “loves basketball and is not retiring” if he cannot play this season. Now NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke to the media regarding Kyrie Irving’s situation.
Adam Silver on Kyrie Irving not taking COVID-19 vaccine
Speaking to reporters Adam Silver stated, “I won’t try to speak for [the NBPA], other than the view that some players had, I think — including maybe some players who are vaccinated — that it should be an individual choice among the players… I would have preferred that ultimately that the Players Association agreed to mandatory vaccinations. The official’s union agreed to mandatory vaccinations, despite opposition from some of their members. But ultimately, I think we could have avoided a lot of the adversarial nature of these issues for our players. It’s not so much with the league. I think that gets confused in some cases.”
Silver went on to say, “This is between Irving and New York City right now. This is not a league issue … but I think it would have been best for everyone if every player were vaccinated.” Kyrie Irving is an NBA champion and 7-time All-Star, his absence would be a blow to the Nets who are looking to make a championship run this season.