New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said he can’t make an exception allowing unvaccinated Nets guard Kyrie Irving to play in Brooklyn.
Adams, who said he has spoken with Nets owner Joseph Tsai about the situation, told CNBC on Monday it “would send the wrong message” to the rest of the city.
“Listen, I want Kyrie on the court. I would do anything to get that ring. So badly, I want it. But there’s so much at stake here. And I spoke with the owner of the team. We want to find a way to get Kyrie on the court, but this is a bigger issue,” Adams said.
“I can’t have my city closed down again. It would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we’re telling countless number of New York City employees ‘If you don’t follow the rules, you won’t be able to be employed.'”
Irving has been limited to playing in road games this season, barred from playing at Barclays Center because of the city’s vaccination requirements for “indoor, dining, fitness and entertainment venues.”
Adams has said previously that the city is looking at March 7 as the date to alter its vaccination requirements if COVID-19 numbers continue to decline. However, there is still a private sector mandate that has been in effect since December 27 that states that “all employees at private sector businesses must have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.”
“Businesses have their vaccine mandates. City employees have their vaccine mandates. I have to follow the rules. And trust me, I want Kyrie on the court,” Adams said.
“We are here right now opening our city because of vaccine mandates. We can’t close down again. I can’t have my city close down again.”
Irving, a seven-time All-Star, has played in 15 road games this season, averaging 25.1 points and 5.3 assists.
The Nets have 21 games left this season, 12 of them at Barclays Center. They have lost 13 of their last 16 games.
At 32-29, they are eighth in the Eastern Conference, meaning they would have to take part in play-in games to earn a spot in the post-season.
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
If people can lose their job, and clubs can face massive payouts, due to the behaviour of coaches, it will drastically change the way sporting teams in Australia will be run.
A Serbian, a Canadian, a Slovenian and a Greek fellow walked into a bar … Well, they’ve actually walked into the NBA and now…
Nikola Jokic has scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead defending NBA champions Denver past LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers…
There will undoubtedly be upset results here and there in the NBA playoffs but there’s an overwhelming sense of fait accompli that Boston will…
LeBron James is going back to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. Steph Curry is headed to the games for the…
The only realistic threat to Boston’s chances of strolling through the Eastern Conference is a team that could still end up in the play-in…
