MARCH 24: In a press conference at Citi Field, Adams officially announced that New York City’s vaccine mandate exemption has been expanded to include local athlete and performers, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That clears the path for Irving to begin playing in home games.
MARCH 23: Kyrie Irving has been unable to play home games the entire season for the Nets, but that could change soon.
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Jeff Passan relay, there’s cautious optimism that New York City’s private-sector COVID-19 vaccine mandate may be rolled back soon — Irving is unvaccinated, which is why he’s been unable to play in Brooklyn. Sources tell Wojnarowski and Passan that talks are progressing to the point that Irving may be able to return for home games as soon as next week.
Sally Goldenberg of Politco goes a step further than ESPN’s report, writing that NYC mayor Eric Adams plans to reverse the vaccine mandate for performers and athletes on Thursday.
Shams Charania of The Athletic hears the same as Goldenberg, reporting that Irving will be cleared on Thursday. The change will give exemptions to unvaccinated performers and athletes, Charania states, which is the current protocol for visiting players (Twitter links).
Irving, who turned 30 today, is averaging 27.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.3 APG and 1.4 SPG on .490/.430/.901 shooting through 19 games this season. The seven-time All-Star holds a $36.5MM player option for next season and can become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he declines the option.
With a 38-34 record, Brooklyn is currently the No. 8 seed in the East. The Nets hold a one-game lead on the No. 9 Hornets and trail the No. 7 Raptors by two games. It’s worth noting that if the season ended today, Irving still wouldn’t be able to play at Toronto (for the play-in tournament) due to the vaccine requirements to enter Canada.
Here are a few more notes on the Nets:
- Seth Curry (left ankle sprain) and Goran Dragic (left knee soreness) are out for Wednesday’s game at Memphis, but coach Steve Nash is hopeful both guards will be able to play Saturday at Miami (Twitter link via Nick Friedell of ESPN).
- Unsurprisingly, Nash says he “would welcome” Irving being able to play home games soon, tweets Friedell. Brooklyn’s next home game is Sunday, March 27, against Charlotte.
- Nash also said he’d be comfortable using Ben Simmons in a playoff game for his potential season debut, although that may be in a limited role off the bench, Friedell relays (via Twitter). Simmons still isn’t doing any basketball-related activities as he deals with a herniated disc in his back.
Who gets Brooklyn in the first round? Gonna be interesting.
Durant-Kyrie>Embiid-Harden.
Brooklyn won’t make it to the first round
Oh.
TOR still has a ban enjoy the play in KI. Eric Adams just as big of a douch as Kyrie apparently, although we already knew that with him nepotistacly making his brother a top player in the city police force on his first week. Gets busted for that then makes him head of security.
Millions of people work in NY and have to comply. Covid Omicron BA.2 is hitting EU and probably US next so another wave is coming, but so glad he is letting super rich people get out of what any transit worker or fast food employee has to follow.
Yeah we should just shut down everything for the next 5 years. Can’t be safe enough right?
Raptors in the play-in is a tuff match up
Would the play in be in Toronto? If so, he still won’t be able to play right?
Yes to both. Unless Cle slips below TOR which isnt a given they wont.
Boomer had it 100% right two days ago on WFAN in The Morning Show
Boomer Esiason on WFAN two mornings ago said this was going to happen
Getting vaccinated right after the mandate is lifted sounds exactly like the kind of thing Kyrie might do. He’s not against the vaccine per se – though he’s looking for a “vegan” one – but he seems to be more against being ordered to do it.
Only like 16% of black people are vaccinated. Which makes sense. 0 trust of the feds.
You’re way off on that. link?
They looked at number of fully vaccinated people based on cdc numbers.
8% were black. I was wrong about the 16%. Was half that.
link to kff.org).
That doesn’t say 8 percent of black people have been fully vaccinated. The 8 percent is the number of black people out of 100 that have recieved a booster shot “at the federal level” not the percentage of black people as a whole. You’re spreading disinformation bro.
Read farther down. It’s 44 percent.
“Overall, Asian (59%) and White (54%) people had the highest shares of eligible people who had received a booster dose, while less than half of NHOPI (46%), AIAN (45%), Black (44%) and Hispanic (40%) people had received a booster shot.
And from the same article when it comes to at least one dose ,” as of March 7, 2022, 84% of Asian, 64% of Hispanic, and 62% of White people had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, higher than the rate for Black people (57%).”
So again, you’re way off.
I thought the vaccine was supposed to be racist
Thats out of the total population if anything where black people are not 100%. 13% of the country is black so if 8% are vaccinated that is more than half. Older people with worse outcomes are more likely. Young dumb people that think they are immortal are less.
News flash everyone should get vaccinated. While things like syphilis experiments were crimes against humanity almost a century ago, do you really think this is some big conspiracy? Get off the Qanon boards bro!
Yes. This is the correct take.
Stop looking to Q-Anon for vaccination information – instead turn to HoopsRumors.com!
You must be white with that attitude.
No he’s against the vaccine. He’s never been ordered to do anything, he can torpedo all the teams he wishes with his insistent whining. They gave him a choice and like most situations, Irving decided to be a contrarian without any ground to stand on. He always puts himself before his team. Getting vaccinated after the mandate is lifted doesn’t fit into his mindset.
Kyrie can now watch in the stands if injured and play home games if healthy.
Big if true
Wow. This is a game changer as far as the Eastern conference playoff picture goes. I pity the fool who draws the Nets in the 1st round.
TOR in TOR for the play in! After that GO HAWKS!
Love you KD but till you lose that anchor named KI cant root for that mess.
Yeah I was kind of out on the Nets with the Kyrie situation and Simmons now probably being out in perpetuity.
But Kyrie and KD as a 7/8 seed? Wow. Also, it’s not a lock TOR is #7. Could be Cleveland. Which would give BK a better shot at #7.
Imagine a Boston-Brooklyn rematch as a 2-7 first round series, the way the Celtics have been playing? Would be epic.
Athletes and performers are ok not to be vaxed but not everyone else? That’s B.S. I’m definitely all for getting the vaccine but that sets a double standard for regular people that aren’t vaccinated.
Like most covid rules, they aren’t based in science or facts.
It really doesn’t matter. Covid rules were not relevant. The team sucked from the beginning. Covid just delayed the realization. They were mediocre to begin with. Kyrie is mediocre.
Actually they are. A small carve out isnt entirely unsafe with case numbers currently low. If they rise it should be re evaluated, but its extremely unfair to create a carve out for “special people” when most athletes and performers are vaxed.
This is basically a cynical move to give Kyrie a special carve out, and f*** Adams, f*** Kyrie, and f*** special treatment for little baby millionaires that wont get a simple shot!
So you agree then that the following is logical:
A) Bradley Beal can play in Brooklyn because he doesn’t play for Brooklyn, despite being unvaccinated
B) Kyrie can attend a home game in Brooklyn, despite not being vaccinated.
C) Kyrie can’t play a home game in Brooklyn, because he’s not vaccinated.
I’m all for safety. But A, B, and C is by definition illogical. And by being illogical it’s unsafe.
So the rule already was unsafe.
Actually Beal did get the shot not too long ago
@ChapmansVacuum I’m glad you got a shot to protect you from covid. Now you just need a pill to protect you from your anger.
AFAIK, it’s the opposite. Spectators don’t have to be vaccinated but performers do. I thought this is what Durant was complaining about to the media the other day.
You obviously don’t follow basketball. The Nets still suck. The Chase Center in San Francisco is filled to capacity with the harshest Covid rules.
“Performers” is the key. Broadway is considered an economic engine there. All the mayor has to do is come up with one name besides a controversial BB player who is likely doing it on purpose.
Irving will be fresh and the Nets have always been favored. To me, they play with effort and no hard feelings. It’s a weird team but my favorite EC. Not that I like it!
Think it has more to do with the Yankees and Mets then Broadway.
Yeah, I think at least Rizzo and Judge aren’t.
X% often comments on New York like an expert, though I get the impression they’ve never actually been there.
Bingo
We’re an expert outsider lol.
I was considering how this will look to a national audience, the mayor letting a local star BB player off for the playoffs. It sounds sleazy, basically, very homer-y. So the “blame” should be spread… esp if the Nets progress as far as I think they will. It will be quipped: Will the mayor get finals MVP?
It is easy to think of NY as a base for diseases, with all the flights from foreign lands. And the story of covid spread bears this out, with Seattle, LA and vacationers in NO as other nexxuses. But in 2020, once covid got going, European flights to NY did more to spread it across the US than Asian flights to the west coast did.
@x%sure: The other people are right. He’s not carving this exemption out for Kyrie. He’s carving it out for the Yankees. If Rizzo and Judge were vaxxed, this would not be happening. I also think that the sharp decrease in COVID cases has a lot to do with it. NY’s Governor, Kelly Hochul, also just let the HERO Act expire.
Okay, but I was looking at national perception, not the mayor’s motivation. His decision could be taken cynically without some (non-sports) PR.
Whatever, probably won’t matter.
No argument on baseball matters!
So, let’s get this strait, Kyrie Irving is afraid of a vaccine. So, Kyrie is soft. The only way the Nets can use Kyrie is as 3 pointer shooter. His fear of contact is limiting his use. I am pretty sure Kevin Durant wishes he never left Golden State. Now, he lives in obscurity in New York.
Saying Kyrie is mediocre and the Nets suck? Then going on to say he’s afraid of a vaccine, Did Kyrie trigger you because he thinks for himself? Maybe it’s you who doesn’t follow basketball
When Durant, Harden, and Irving first joined the Nets, they where the favorites to when a Champion. Now, Harden is gone for a guy that has trouble thinking for himself. What is a Kyrie afraid of? The virus doesn’t care about what you are thinking. What are you going to do when the next Pandemic comes along? There will be another one. Please tell how you plan to avoid/minimize the next one. People thinking they could outhink this didn’t go over so well. It lasted longer then it needed to.
“Did Kyrie trigger you because he thinks ONLY ABOUT himself?”
FIFY
This was in the works ever since he showed up at Nets gm. In Bklyn on national TV. NY was heading this way. Especially after MLB settled their dispute. The economy needs this. And now I guess there is enough vaccinated folks out there. I know I am. They still have to be tested though.
link to nypost.com
I know this. Whoever gets the Nets in 1st rd. They are losing. Only Bucks can beat the Nets. It’s going to be a great playoffs this yr.
No. The Nets are still Mediocre. The economy will be fine without the Nets.
The economy needed the Yankees and the Mets.
Finally we agree on something!
It’s all sports, concerts, indoor events. It’s not just NBA. As a matter of fact. Nets are the smallest compared to everything else NY got. Folks here should Get updated lol
Finally Kyrie will be able to play, ’bout flipping time!
Dude is on a tear playing his usual great, a real pleasure to watch by hoops fans, showing us what the useless NYC has robbed us for the whole season!
Yeah, that vaccine mandate probably prevented people from getting sick or dying, but USELESS NYC made us miss out on good basketball! Those jerks!
So, you think that the vax has saved lives?!?!?
Prove me wrong, buddy. I’m itching to see you post misinformation so you finally get banned.
This is earth calling.. Flat-earth to Kyrie. If forced to put your team ahead of yourself, can you do that?
Kyrie should be thankfull than baseball season starts in time – this is all because there are unvaxxed Yankees (namely Aaron Judge) who wouldnt play if this vaccination rule would still be in effect.
Correct
Well then f*** the Yankees, I mean thats a given, f*** Judge, and f*** KI!
Kyrie Irving has been great with all that rest, giving him fresh legs. Making his threes. Looks like a young sprout. Now we’ll see how he holds up when (if) he plays the last few games of the season.
Holy chit. Kyrie won.
He didn’t win anything- all mandates have been ending and this is no different. He simply waited it out until the laws changed which have paved the way for him to know be able to play. What a pathetic man, who has killed his legacy
He’s pathetic because he didn’t follow the masses? A mandate isn’t a law either but ok bud
Mandate – An official order or commission to do something.
Law – An individual rule as part of a system of law.
Pretty much the same thing.
Not following the masses automatically makes you some kind of hero huh zylo?
Superstar
NBA Champion
Potential HOFmer (28-29)
Think his legacy is just fine.
Flat earther
Super conspiracy theorist
Science denier
He’s a fing idiot.
“The earth is flat” says the moron/Conspiracy Theorists. Bahahhahahaha! What’s wrong with our education system? That is the question we need to be asking……
Politicians who have the ability ,and finances from tax payer money, to send their kids to private schools don’t want regular people to have the same choice and access. Politicians in the 60s prevented kids from entering affluent schools. Politicians in the 2020s are doing the same by keeping kids generation after generation confined to failing public schools based on geographical location.
Well that’s pretty much spot on.
And you want what? To defund public schools for terrible charters?
Public schools need more money so they can be better. Tell your congress man to allocate more money to education.
Schools get roughly $14,000 per kid.
1000 from feds
6500 from state level
6500 from county level
How much more do you need exactly?
And no. Parents should be allowed to take money anywhere.
Same public school if they choose to stay
Different public school if theyre willing to drive
Charter school
Private school
Why are eager to keep kids in failing schools?
link to educationdata.org.
So choosing where to get a good education should be based on where parents want to take their money? How about a good education that’s free?
Actuly no.
Like any industry competition is good. Homeschool and private schools arent viable options for many.
If you look at colleges
1. People already receive free public money to attend any college they chose. Pell grants.
2. Many states charge more for out of state applicants due to the competitive nature of applying to good colleges. No schools k-12 shouldnt charge more to keep people out. But competition breeds better products.
3. Money belongs to the tax payers not schools.
But imagine telling ebt holders they can only spend their tax payer money in certain areas and only at approved government funded locations. You and I both know that wont go over well.
Education isn’t an industry, it’s a human right.
Why do you want to commodify it? You are so obsessed with money that you think if even it goes to schools, it still belongs to the taxpayer.
I sure hope he doesn’t think he is a hero. He is as selfish as they come.
Yeah we heard you the first time
Yeah, he’s right up there with Bernie Madoff
They’ve been talking about this on 98.7 around the NYC area and what the backlash might be because lifting this ban just for athletes when they just fired what 1,000-1500 city workers including teachers that were unvaccinated….
Sounds like the city is about to get sued.
Nets imo will go after 6th seed. It’s within reach now. They probably end up at the very least 7th seed. So that means …….
The 2nd seed in 1st rd …….
Nobody wants Nets in 1st rd. Not the Heat. Not the Sixers. Only the Bucks have a chance. I doubt they want them this early too. Nets not losing in 1st rd. I pray it’s the Sixers. Kyrie is going to own Harden. He will punish his no D game. Oh please lord… let it be the Sixers !!!!! “Bklyn Style”