Unvaccinated Nets quarterback Kyrie Irving made a couple of appearances at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center over the weekend, but not because New York City has canceled a vaccination mandate for private sector employees.
Instead, Irving was paradoxically allowed into the stadium because he wasn’t working.
While New York City Mayor Eric Adams has relaxed the city’s mandates by allowing fans to attend games without showing proof of vaccination, the mandate for local workers remains in place.
Due to this discrepancy, the 29-year-old former top draft pick will continue to be banned from home games, although he is now free to attend unmasked games as a spectator.
On Saturday, he took advantage of the rule and returned to the Barclays Center to watch his alma mater, Duke, lose the ACC Tournament title game to Virginia Tech, then returned again on Sunday to see his Nets beat the opponent.” Nix.” thanks to 53 points from Brooklyn star Kevin Durant.
Durant then sent a message to Adams, an avowed Nets fan, accusing the mayor of using the mandate to gain publicity.
Unvaccinated Nets defenseman Kyrie Irving (R) congratulates teammate Kevin Durant (L) who scored 53 points in Sunday’s win over the Knicks. Irving was not allowed to play at home this season due to his refusal to obey the city’s order.
Brooklyn Nets defenseman Kyrie Irving (11) celebrates the Nets’ fourth-quarter victory over the New York Knicks at the Barclays Center.
Adams wasn’t just named by Irving’s current teammates. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who played with Irving in Cleveland, also got into the action on Twitter.
“Yeah, I don’t get it,” Duran told reporters. “But at this point, it seems like someone is trying to make a statement or hint to exercise their power. But everyone here is looking for attention, and I feel like the mayor wants some attention right now. He’ll figure it out soon. He is better.
“But it just didn’t make any sense,” Duran continued. “There are already people in this building who have not been vaccinated. We have a guy who can enter the building, I think they are afraid of our safety? I do not understand. We are all confused. At this moment, everyone in the world is confused. Earlier this season, people didn’t understand what was going on, but now it just looks stupid. So hopefully, Eric, you should be able to sort this out.
And it wasn’t just Irving’s current teammates who named Adams. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who played with Irving in Cleveland, also got into the action on Twitter.
“This literally makes ABSOLUTELY ZERO MEANING!!!” James tweeted about the New York mandate.
Irving was out of home games for the entire season due to a vaccination mandate. The Nets originally intended to cut him from practice and road games, stating they didn’t need part-time players, but the team conceded in December, albeit with mixed results. The Nets are just 7-11 when the seven-time All-Star played in the 2021-22 season.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (pictured) faced angry Nets fans earlier Sunday when he broke ground at a new playground in Brooklyn, but appeared to have a response ready. “Look, you’re right,” Adams told fans, quoted by the New York Post. “Kairie can play tomorrow: get vaccinated”
Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving watches the final of the ACC men’s basketball tournament between the Duke Blue Devils and the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Barclays Center.
Meanwhile, Irving’s status for an upcoming playoff appearance remains in question as the eighth-seeded Nets struggle to stay in the playoffs.
Last month, NBA commissioner Adam Silver urged Adams to simplify the mandate after unvaccinated Sacramento Kings player Justin Holiday was allowed to play against the Nets at Barclays Center because his employer is out of town.
“For me, the weird thing about this law in New York is that it only applies to home players,” Silver told ESPN in February. “I think if this rule is ultimately about protecting the people who are in the arena, it just doesn’t quite make sense to me that an unvaccinated away player can play at Barclays and a home player can’t. To me, that’s the reason they need to look at this ruling.”
Earlier Sunday, Adams faced angry Nets fans when he was mortgaging a new playground in Brooklyn, but he seemed to have an answer ready.
“Look, you’re right,” Adams told fans, quoted by the New York Post. “Kairie can play tomorrow: get vaccinated.”
Duran (right) was thrilled to see Irving (left) drop 53 points in a win over the Knicks.
Adams said he wanted Irving to play at home but couldn’t make an exception for one person.
The mayor went so far as to tell CNBC last week that the current rule “doesn’t make sense,” but while he thinks it’s “ridiculous,” he needs to beware of sending ambiguous messages to his constituents.
“Look, I want Kyrie on the court,” Adams said. I would do anything to get this ring. So much, I want it. But there is so much at stake here. And I spoke to the owner of the team. We want to find a way to get Kairi on the court, but that’s a bigger problem.
“I can’t shut down my city again. It would be the wrong message to make an exception for just one player when we say to countless New York employees, “If you don’t follow the rules, you can’t get hired.”
Irving, like most fans at the Barclays Center on Sunday, refrained from wearing a mask.
Irving seemed to back Adams’ claims when he spoke to reporters last week.
“Hey Eric Adams, man,” Irving said during a video press conference following his loss to his former team, the Boston Celtics, last week. “Being mayor of New York is not an easy job. And with COVID approaching, vaccination mandates, everything that’s going on in our world, with this war in Ukraine, and everyone feeling it across America, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes right now, trying to delegate one basketball or not. . the player can come and play at home.
“I appreciate his comments and his position. He knows where I stand.
The Nets and Irving are optimistic about his chances to play at home this season.
“Now we’re playing a waiting game, bro,” Irving said Sunday after Boston fans booed him during his 19-point game in a 126-120 loss to the rising Celtics on March 6. ‘I’m waiting as long as you.’
Irving was vague when asked to explain why he still hasn’t been vaccinated, saying in October that he’s “taking the time to make a decision about his life” and that he’s not “anti-vaccine.” He said his solution “is really to be true to what I like.”