Rules are rules unless you can afford the fines.
The New York Nets and NBA may have a loophole if they want the guard to play in home games despite his vaccination status, but it would cost them a large chunk of cash.
Irving has not been able to play at the Barclays Center since he returned to the Nets due to New York City's COVID-19 vaccination mandate, though opposing unvaccinated players are exempt.
But as noted by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, if Irving did play in home games, it would only cost the team up to $1,000 on first offense and up to $2,000 for the second time. Every violation within 12 months of the second then would cost up to $5,000.
Certainly an NBA team can afford that.
Who knows if the Nets or NBA will go for that, but if nothing changes at City Hall come playoff time, it will be interesting to see if the situation changes.
