Nets' Kyrie Irving Declines to Disclose Vaccination Status amid NYC's COVID-19 Rules
Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, participating in the team's media days from a remote location on Monday, told reporters he would prefer to keep his COVID-19 vaccination status private.
It's a huge developing story for the Nets, given that New York City requires professional athletes to show proof of at least one vaccine shot to either practice or play in the city. In essence, if Irving isn't vaccinated, he will not be permitted to play any of the team's home games.
"That's on Kyrie and that's his personal decision. What he does is not on us to speculate what may happen," superstar Kevin Durant told reporters on Monday regarding his teammate's vaccination status. "We trust in Kyrie, and I expect us to have our whole team at some point."
New York City isn't alone in its vaccination requirements for athletes. San Francisco also has a vaccine mandate for people 12 years of age and older in any indoor event with more than 1,000 people, which effects the Golden State Warriors.
Andrew Wiggins attempted to receive an exemption to that rule from the NBA on religious grounds and was denied.
"Under the current order, if unvaccinated, they cannot enter indoor areas regardless of the reason they are unvaccinated and cannot test out of this requirement even if they have a medical or religious exemption," the San Francisco Department of Public Health added in a statement.
While vaccine mandates also effect the New York Knicks, the team announced that its roster is full vaccinated.
As for visiting players, they will not have New York City's and San Francisco's vaccine mandates apply to them when they face the Nets, Knicks or Warriors.
Matt Sullivan of Rolling Stone reported over the weekend that 50 to 60 NBA players are currently unvaccinated. And NBA legend and Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn't happy about it:
"The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team. There is no room for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their teammates, the staff and the fans simply because they are unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation or do the necessary research. What I find especially disingenuous about the vaccine deniers is their arrogance at disbelieving immunology and other medical experts. Yet, if their child was sick or they themselves needed emergency medical treatment, how quickly would they do exactly what those same experts told them to do?"
Because vaccination mandates are collectively bargained, the NBA can't unilaterally take action against the unvaccinated, outside of enforcing the local laws in cities like New York or San Francisco.
But it will be fascinating to see whether players like Wiggins and presumably Irving ultimately relent and get vaccinated, and if they don't, how their teammates and fans will respond to them missing half of the season.
