Getty Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts after he is called for a foul in the second quarter against the Boston Celtics during Game One of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
While they highly suggest that the players take the COVID-19 vaccination, the NBA as a league will not require them to have it to play this season. Be that as it may members of the NBA and its entities will still have to abide by state rules and regulations as it pertains to coronavirus health and safety protocols. For markets such as New York and San Francisco, players will have to be fully vaccinated to play indoors. This means players from the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Brooklyn Nets will be required to take the jab.
When it was announced that New York would be one of the markets that required players to take the vaccine, the first player that came to the minds of many was Nets point guard Kyrie Irving. Irving has developed a reputation for being a player that is not afraid of going against the grain. And with the vaccination quickly going from being a suggestion to a mandate, many fans suspected that Kyrie would be wary of taking the shot.
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Kyrie Says His Vaccination Status Is ‘Private’ Matter
Kyrie’s absence from Nets media day all but confirmed that he has yet to be vaccinated. With under a week to go before the Nets preseason gets underway, many have begun to speculate whether he will get the shot at all and elect to sit out of Nets’ home games this season. Fans will have to wait and see how it unfolds as Irving says that his vaccination status is a private matter.
“Honestly, I’d like to keep that stuff private. I’m a human being first. Obviously living in this public sphere it’s just a lot of questions about what’s going on in the world of Kyrie. I think I just would love to just keep that private, handle it the right way with my team and go forward together with the plan,” Irving told reporters over Zoom per NetsDaily.
“I’m not able to be present there today. But that doesn’t mean that I’m putting any limits on the future of me being able to join the team, I just want to keep it that way, so we can keep that private. But if anyone has any further questions about that, it’ll be the same response. I would like to keep that private, and just please respect that — my privacy.”
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Kyrie Addresses the Status of His Contract Extension
Kyrie comes into this season eligible to sign a four-year $181.6 million extension to remain with the Nets. While many expected both his and James Harden’s extensions to be inked coming into this season that is not the case. Kyrie says that he, general manager Sean Marks, and Nets owner Joe Tsai are in constant communication and expect a deal to get done at some point.
“We’re having great talks. It’s going well. We know that the future is on our side sort of say just being able to maximize our potential in these next coming years to make a few runs at this championship,” Irving said of his extension talks per NetsDaily.
“We’re just ready to start with a clean slate, build this chemistry the right way, and do it one brick at a time. A lot of smiles and a lot of good times that we can create with one another. Ultimately, the goal is a championship.”
After a second-round exit at the hands of Milwaukee Bucks last year, it was clear that the Nets will need to be fully loaded if they are going to make a legitimate run at an NBA title. If Kyrie isn’t going to get vaccinated, thus causing him to miss games, the Nets title hopes could already be in grave danger.
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