By Tyrell Ingram
Mayor Eric Adams announced that on Mar. 7, vaccine mandates for indoor venues will be lifted. Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, however, will still be ineligible to play in the Barclays Center.
The mayor has announced that indoor venues such as restaurants, gyms, and entertainment facilities, will no longer require proof of vaccination for entry. Unfortunately for Irving, who remains unvaccinated, these rules do not apply towards the private sector as businesses can still require workers who interact with other people or who work in-person to receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Though the 29-year-old basketball star can enter the arena, he will not be able to play due to these guidelines. He will also be barred from playing in Madison Square Garden when the Nets face the Knicks.
Previously, the mayor said in a Feb. 28 interview with CNBC that he wants Irving to play, but he doesn’t want to make an exception for the Nets’ guard because it will set a bad example for the city.
“We want to find a way to get Kyrie on the court, but this is a bigger issue,” Mayor Adams said. “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.’”
The league is 97% vaccinated, according to theScore, and 77% of New York City is at least fully vaccinated, according to NYC Health.
Despite the guidelines, unvaccinated players from other teams outside of New York can play in the Barclays Center. The mayor acknowledged that the rules are “ridiculous.”
“It makes no sense,” Adams said. “I don’t know who thought of putting such a ridiculous rule in place of ‘away teams can come and play.’”
This sentiment was also pointed out by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver weeks prior.
“This law in New York, the oddity of it to me, is that it only applies to home players,” Silver told ESPN. “I think if ultimately that rule is about protecting people who are in the arena, it just doesn’t quite make sense to me that an away player who is unvaccinated can play in Barclays but the home player can’t.”
Irving has only played 15 games this season and has averaged 25.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. The Brooklyn Nets (32-32) are eighth in the Eastern Conference and have lost seven of their last 10 games.