UPDATED 2/28, 12:50 p.m. ET: The Nets can’t pay a fine that would allow Kyrie Irving to play home games, the New York Daily News reports.
The outlet obtained a memo the NBA sent to teams before the season started, explaining that teams can’t break the law when it comes to vaccine mandates. “Pursuant to the local orders set forth above, if a player is on an impacted team, unvaccinated, and does not have an approved bona fide medical or religious exemption (the determination of which will be made by the league office), he will not be allowed to enter their home arenas or practice facilities in these jurisdictions or participate in any games, practices, or other team activities conducted there,” the memo read.
While the city is expected to lift its Key to NYC vaccine mandate on March 7, the private sector mandate means Irving will continue to miss home games until that’s repealed as well.
See original story below.
UPDATED 2/27, 5:30 p.m. ET: New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday that the city’s vaccine mandate will be lifted on March 7, with COVID-19 numbers continuing to drop. According to Shams Charania, “the private sector mandate still restricts Kyrie Irving from playing in home games,” although he could still enter Barclays Center as a “spectator.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Irving will eventually be able to play home games.
See original story below.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city plans to phase out its vaccine mandate in the coming weeks, which would allow Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving to play in home games.
The mayor discussed the process in a press conference on Wednesday. When asked if he plans to shed the vaccine passports to occupy in-door spaces like how Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC have, he said that he “can’t wait to get it done.”
“I take my hat off to New Yorkers through masks, through vaccines, through social distancing. We were hit with the uncertainty, the fear of COVID. I’m just really proud of how we responded as New Yorkers.”
The mayor went on to say that he still plans to follow the benchmarks laid out by scientists who have given him a “clear structure” for how to move forward. As for Irving, the Nets guard has not played a home game in Brooklyn this season because of the city’s vaccine mandates. Irving only began playing in away games in January after the Nets loosened their organizational policies on allowing players to compete even on a part-time basis.
The Nets recently acquired Ben Simmons in a blockbuster trade that sent James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers, and if NYC phases out its vaccine mandates in time for the playoffs, then Brooklyn has a legitimate shot at the Finals with the new big three of Simmons, Irving, and a soon-to-be healthy Kevin Durant.
