Unvaccinated players won’t be paid when forced to sit out
Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins now have decisions to make: Get the COVID-19 vaccine or sit games out without pay.
With COVID-19 vaccination mandates in place for NBA arenas in New York City and San Francisco, league spokesperson Mike Bass issued a statement on Wednesday: “Any player who elects not to comply with local vaccination mandates will not be paid for the games that he misses,” Bass wrote.
If Irving is unvaccinated, he would forfeit a huge chunk of his $34.9 million salary by missing the Brooklyn Nets’ 43 games in New York at the Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden. The Warriors’ Wiggins has said he is unvaccinated, and would lose out on millions of his $31.6 million in pay if he couldn’t play because of San Francisco’s vaccine mandate. The exact amount of pay lost for the home games is still to be determined, according to ESPN.
Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal and Magic forward Jonathan Isaac are among the other NBA players who have been outspoken about their decision not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Irving would neither confirm nor deny his vaccination status when asked on Nets media day earlier this week. Instead, he told reporters to respect his privacy while he sorts the situation on his own. Lakers big man Dwight Howard followed Irving’s suit, insisting reporters in Los Angeles respect his privacy, as well, although Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has said that every player on the roster will be fully vaccinated by the start of the season next month.
The Knicks have previously said their entire organization, including all players, is fully vaccinated and in compliance with the New York City law. The order in New York requires one COVID-19 shot. To enter San Francisco's Chase Center, a person must be fully vaccinated. Visiting players in both cities are exempt from the mandate.
“All the kind of questions kind of leading me into what’s happening, just please, everything will be released at a due date once we get this cleared up,” Irving said on Monday after multiple questions regarding his vaccination status. “But as of right now, just please respect my privacy regarding anything about home games, what’s happening, vaccination, please.”
Irving, however, did not attend media day in-person. The Nets did not give a reason for his physical absence, but players were unable to attend if they did not have a vaccine shot.
Irving was allowed to attend training camp in San Diego with the Nets because San Diego’s COVID-19 vaccination laws differ from those in New York and San Francisco. His teammates did not express any concern over his potential limited availability on media day, but that could change as the first home game draws closer on Oct. 8.
“I expect it not to be (an issue),” Nets star Kevin Durant said. “It’s on Kyrie and that’s his personal decision. What he does is not on us to speculate what may happen. But we trust in Kyrie and I expect us to have our whole team at some point.”
Unvaccinated players must undergo regular testing, cannot eat indoors with fully vaccinated teammates nor attend restaurants, bars, clubs or other high-risk settings and must be given lockers as distant as possible for other players, among other restrictions.
Out of bounds challenges altered
Instant replay of out-of-bounds violations in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime of NBA games this season will be initiated by a coach’s challenge, rather than referees.
The NBA’s Board of Governors approved the change on a one-year trial basis.
Under the previous rule, coaches could not challenge an out-of-bounds ruling within the final two minutes. The change allows coaches to challenge an out-of-bounds ruling at any point in the game.