After Doubling Down On Vaccine Obstinance, Just One Last Shot For Irving To Play Nets Home Games This Season
Kyrie Irving was at his maximum level of defiance when discussing his stance on COVID-19 vaccines following the Nets 114-107 defeat in Cleveland on Monday afternoon.
When asked by New York Post writer Brian Lewis and then pressed hard by ESPN’s Nick Friedell, the superstar point guard stated without equivocation that his decision to remain unvaccinated would not be swayed by basketball-related events, such as the strained MCL injury to MVP candidate Kevin Durant.
Under New York City Executive Order 225 that took effect in September, Irving is prohibited from competing with his teammates at Barclays Center for Nets home games while unvaccinated. The Cavs game was just Irving’s fourth this season, as only recently have the Nets reversed their initial decision that they would not tolerate a player with part-time status.
With reports indicating that KD will be out approximately four-to-six weeks, that could mean that Brooklyn will be down to just James Harden amongst their Big 3 for at least six more games, including one at Madison Square Garden where Irving is also banned.
The obvious solution to Brooklyn’s problem is for Irving to literally take one for the team and get vaccinated. Even during Monday’s questioning, he has yet to offer a coherent reason for his obstinance, again meandering between his distaste for mandates of any kind to the good ole personal freedom argument. He mentioned several times that he didn’t want to get into “the science.”
As of now, I can only surmise that he just doesn’t want to get the jab, which is unjustifiable given the safety of the vaccines and the circumstances of the pandemic, never mind how he’s affecting the people he works with.
However, assuming Irving stays true to his word, the question keeps popping up as to how he can finagle his way into playing at home. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski even reported last week on the relatively miniscule fines the Nets would have to pay to the City if they defied the Order, but then had to walk it back when he was confronted with an NBA memo that requires teams to follow all local ordinances.
There’s one more possibility that I will now make a case for, though not for the reasons you think—I am decidedly pro-vaccine mandates.
However, once the Omicron variant has run its course through the City and no others appear on the horizon, Mayor Eric Adams should amend the clause pertaining to the City’s professional athletes from the mandate.
Think about it: The reason the mandate was put into place was to coerce as many people as possible into getting vaccinated. Guess what, it worked wonders for the City’s pro athletes. It only covers those who toil in indoor arenas and, as far as I can tell, every Rangers, Islanders, Liberty, Knicks, and Nets player has been vaccinated—except for one, Kyrie Irving.
Visiting players are already exempt from the order and Irving is somehow allowed to continue to practice indoors at the Nets HSS practice facility in Industry City despite the newer regulation effective December 27 that requires all City employers to maintain vaccination records. So there is room to move the goalposts.
I’m not a lawyer, so I won’t weigh in on whether any of this is unconstitutional, but taking a step back, does it seem appropriate to keep a regulation clause on the books for just one person? At this point, the clause is more punitive than coercive, defeating its stated goal.
All it would take would be to remove one word from Paragraph 2c of the original Order, which lists the categories of individuals that are exempt from the vaccine mandate: “A nonresident professional athlete/sports team who enters a covered premises as part of their regular employment for purposes of competing…”
That’s it—one word—"nonresident.” Nothing will change other than Irving would then be allowed to entertain New Yorkers. For those who claim that it would be unfair to single out professional athletes for preferential treatment, show me another category where the mandate is preventing just one or even a handful of individuals from carrying out their livelihoods.
As an unvaccinated player, Irving would still be subject to the NBA’s health and safety protocols as collectively bargained by the league and its Players Association, of which Irving is a Vice President. He will still get tested every day—the more relaxed surveillance testing guidelines issued last week were for the vaccinated and boosted players.
Again, I’m not diminishing the devastation that this pandemic has unleashed, especially in New York City. Just when we thought we were past it, the Delta and Omicron variants smacked us down, creating the necessity for these vaccine mandates. Despite what you hear from certain purveyors of misinformation, the vaccines have saved countless lives. Even if over 300 NBA players, including Irving, have been infected this season, all evidence proves that the vaccines have reduced the intended ill effects of the coronavirus. You’re not hearing as much about players dealing with Long COVID symptoms like we did last season. I shudder to think about what might have been had the league not had 97% of its players vaccinated (and about 65% boosted) as of last month.
However, just as the increases in community spread prompted the stricter measures, the reverse should also apply. Now that the daily caseload is on a downward trend, according to the Health Department statistics, there could very well come a time where those measures are no longer required.
It may not come in time for Irving to help Harden out in Durant’s absence, but Adams should eventually do the right thing and at least amend the Order’s clause.
I’d be hopeful, but Adams did claim in an MSG Network interview on Monday that he was a Knicks fan.