Kyrie’s anti-vaccine status ‘moral-based’
There’s a possibility the Nets will take the court for their first home preseason game on Oct. 8 without star guard Kyrie Irving — and maybe every game in Brooklyn this season.
One of Irving’s family members told Rolling Stone there was a scenario where players could skip games this season to avoid the “oppressing” limitations of the New York City vaccine mandate.
If the NBA season started today, Irving would not be able to practice or play games in Brooklyn, as he has not been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Fox Sports. Nets general manager
Sean Marks suggested to re- porters on Tuesday that a few players would not be able to play due to the vaccine mandate if the season were to start that day.
“There are so many other players outside of him who are opting out, I would like to think they would make a way,” Kyrie’s aunt, Tyki Irving, told Rolling Stone. “It could be like every third game. So it still gives you a full season of being interactive and being on the court, but with the limitations that they’re, of course, oppressing upon you. There can be some sort of formula where the NBA and the players can come to some sort of agreement.”
Tyki Irving runs the seven-time AllStar’s family foundation and is one of the few people in his regular circle of advisers. A spokeswoman for Irving declined to respond to Rolling Stone’s questions regarding his vaccination and playing status. Irving also did not immediately respond to a message from Rolling Stone.
The NBA informed teams it would have to abide by the COVID-19 vaccine mandates in their home cities. In New York, nobody over the age of 12 is allowed to enter “certain covered premises” without proof of at least one dose of a vaccination unless given an approved medical or religious exemption.
It’s unclear if Irving is going to seek an exemption. San Francisco has a similar mandate, and the Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins was recently denied a religious exemption from the local order.
“He is going to try to figure that out as it comes, because it’s not religious-based, it’s moral-based,” Tyki Irving told Rolling Stone of Kyrie, who follows someone on Instagram who claims the vaccine is “fulfilling prophecy of Satan’s ultimate plan to enslave the human soul.”
Irving is scheduled to speak at Nets media day on Monday.
Rolling Stone reported that 50-60 NBA players have yet to receive a single vaccine dose. The report details how unvaccinated players have pushed the NBA around and “forced the league to cave” on regulations in their near-final medical guide. According to Rolling Stone, however, all courtside players and personnel will be required to wear masks on arena benches and around practice facilities for the foreseeable future due to the emergence of the Delta variant.
After interviewing more than a dozen people including current players and league executives, Rolling Stone unearthed that the “Moderna microchip misinformation campaign has spread across multiple NBA locker rooms and group chats.”