UPDATED 10/13/21, 5:10 p.m. ET: Sham Charania confirmed that Kyrie Irving will not be offered a contract extension, according to a tweet from Nets Daily writer Alec Sturm, who cites The Glue Guys.
UPDATED 10/12/21, 7:05 p.m. ET: According to sources that The Athletic spoke to, Irving is holding out on getting the vaccine not because he’s anti-vaxx but because he’s not happy with mandates.
Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania:
It’s a stance that Irving has explained to close teammates. To him, this is about a grander fight than the one on the court and Irving is challenging a perceived control of society and people’s livelihood, according to sources with knowledge of Irving’s mindset. It is a decision that he believes he is capable to make given his current life dynamics.
Elsewhere in the report, Charania writes that other teams think that the Nets might be down with trading Irving. The 29-year-old could play in any market outside of San Francisco and New York City without getting the jab, as they are the only two places that require that players be fully vaccinated. It’s unclear if Irving himself would be open to playing for another team.
See original story below.
Kyrie Irving will not practice or play with the Nets until he’s eligible to be a “full participant,” according to a statement issued by team GM Sean Marks.
“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,” the statement read. “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 term, and we will permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability.”
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Kyrie will lose $381,181 of salary for every game missed due to local vaccine restrictions in New York. This means that Irving potentially could lose $15.6 million from his 2021-22 paycheck if he misses all 41 home games, plus an additional $762,362 for missing the two home preseason games, and another $762,362 for missing two games at Madison Square Garden.
But with today’s statement, Kyrie risks forfeiting his entire salary for the season if he doesn’t comply with the state’s vaccine protocols.
While Kyrie has not publicly stated that he’s not vaccinated, the assumption has been that he’s not, as he’s publicly refused to speak on the matter.
“I like to keep that stuff private,” Irving said on the team’s media day. “I’m a human being first. Obviously living in this public sphere, there’s a lot of questions about what’s going on in the world of Kyrie, and I think I would love to keep that private and handle it the right way with my team and go forward together with a plan. Obviously I’m not able to be present there today, but that doesn’t mean I’m putting any limits on the future for me being able to join the team.”
New York City’s vaccine mandate requires all residents to have at least one shot any COVID vaccine to enter indoor gyms, which includes the Barclays Center.
