With New York City mayor Eric Adams announcing an adjustment to the private sector mandate for COVID-19 vaccines, Kyrie Irving can now take the floor at the Barclays Center, presumably as soon as Sunday when the Nets host the Hornets.
Irving declined to comment earlier in the week when reports began to surface that a change to the mandate that kept him out of home games all season was going to change, but now that it is official, the superstar point guard openly expressed his relief, while still acknowledging the other unvaccinated City employees that were, and still are, being affected by the private sector mandate.
“I had to keep pinching myself Thursday and Wednesday when all the news was coming out,” Irving said. “It’s never been just about me. Any special privilege or exemption, I think there are a lot of people dealing with real consequences from being unvaccinated. I don’t think its’ talked about enough in terms of our essential workers and people on the front line. It’s a whole community of us that really want to stand together.”
Irving has been one of the most notable public figures to not receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and it was the story of the Nets season, as he didn’t play at all until January, when he became a part-time contributor. Then, Adams lifted the Key2NYC mandates, which allowed Irving to be in the stands at the Barclays Center but not on the floor with the team, though visiting players who were unvaccinated were able to play. Adams, who has spoken out against that aspect of the mandate since stepping into his mayoral role, finally made a change to it on Thursday, opening the door for Irving to make his Brooklyn debut with just nine games left in the regular season.
“Though I’m very appreciative of Mayor Adams doing what he did and everyone in our Nets organization and everyone sending in notes to the mayor…now is the time to really get all of us included and get everybody back to work so we can get some normalcy around here,” Irving said. “I know everybody still feels it. there’s a whole community of people that have lost their jobs due to the mandate as well. I’m just putting care out for them most importantly, and standing alongside them.”
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