by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

October 13, 2021

Brooklyn Nets Player Kyrie Irving Not Allowed to Play Until he Meets New York’s Vaccination Requirements

The controversy surrounding Brooklyn Nets basketball player Kyrie Irving has taken another turn that could jeopardize his playing career with the NBA team.

According to NBA.com, the Nets All-Star guard will not participate, play, or practice with the Brooklyn Nets until he complies with New York State’s COVID-19 vaccination rules.

Brooklyn Nets General Manager Sean Marks released a statement regarding the vaccination status of Irving:

“Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant. Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability.”

Marks stated that this decision was made with owner Joe Tsai after having discussions with Irving and his associates. It was also mentioned that Irving’s teammates said they were supportive of Irving’s decision, but the general manager also seemed to indicate a concern about how fans would react to Irving’s only playing road games and not playing any homes games this season.

It was suspected that if Irving didn’t get vaccinated, he would only play road games (Except for games played in San Francisco and at Madison Square Garden) this upcoming season, but with this latest announcement, he will be sidelined until he gets vaccinated or traded to another team.

Last month, BLACK ENTERPRISE reported on a Twitter post from The Athletic’s Shams Charania that said unvaccinated players in New York and San Francisco couldn’t enter the arenas of the Golden State Warriors (who play at the Chase Center in San Francisco), the New York Knicks (Madison Square Garden in New York) and the Brooklyn Nets (Barclays Center in Brooklyn).

 


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