Kyrie Irving has not been able to play for the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center this season due to New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but could that soon change?
NYC mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday met with the media and addressed the city’s mandate that has kept Irving off the court at home. A reporter asked Adams with cities like Boston, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia either phasing out or already eliminating indoor vaccine mandates if New York would be next.
“I can’t wait to get it done. I take my hat off to New Yorkers. Through masks, vaccines, through social distancing. We were hit with the uncertainty, the fear of COVID,” Adams told reporters, as transcribed by CBS. I’m really proud of how we responded as New Yorkers. Every morning I meet with my health professionals — I always say that I’m gonna follow the science. I’m not gonna get ahead of the science. Because I’m ready to get ahead of all of this and get ready to a level of normality, but they’re giving us clear instructions, they gave us benchmarks and we’re gonna follow those benchmarks.”
There is no timeline for when the mandate will be lifted, but Adams did say he is looking forward to the next few weeks.
“I look forward to the next few weeks of going through a real transformation that I don’t have to wonder what you look like,” he said. “I will know what you look like again. We are moving in the right direction, we’re going to do it in a safe way, because all of these experts will tell you the same thing: We can’t close down again. We can’t close down again. I’m not going to do something out of my anticipation to get back that will jeopardize closing down the city again.”
The NBA does not have a vaccine policy, and Irving is unvaccinated. He recently began playing in away games, but he certainly would provide a boost to the Nets if they can get him back on a full-time basis.
